Growing Up Snape
by teacherbev
Summary: AU Sequel to Snape's Invisible Friend. The continuing story of ShaunHarry beginning directly after SIF, summer that Shaun turns 5. Play groups, temper tantrums, Sirius Black. Can Snape survive without killing someone?
1. Chapter 1: Finding a Friend

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Summary: Sequel to Snape's Invisible Friend. Snape adopted Harry and now has to deal with raising a magically strong preschooler without killing him. No Slash/No Mary Sue.

AN: This story will not make much sense unless you read "Snape's Invisible Friend" before reading this. The story begins directly after the conclusion of SIF, summer just before Shaun/Harry turns five.

Chapter 1: Finding a Friend

The week following the End of Term feast of 1985 was memorable only for its lack of troubles, and that in itself was memorable. No frantic owls from the Ministry for Magic, no stress related squabbles amongst the staff as they finished up essays, tests, and final grading. No unexpected hitches in the plans for many of the staff to leave for a short vacation, and most important for Severus Snape, no temper tantrums or explosions from his adopted son, Shaun; formerly known as Harry James Potter. At four and a half, almost five, Shaun had begun to shed his abnormally shy and complacent behavior that was a relic of his three years of abuse at the hands of his Muggle Aunt and Uncle.

Last summer, Severus had been virtually alone in the castle when a battered, bleeding and virtually silent toddler suddenly appeared in his lab. He had healed the boy and then cared for him alone for the next month until the other staff members began to return for the fall term at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had to keep his voice and temper under tight control as the child was terrified of any loud noises and had been both emotionally and physically scarred by his former guardians. And as time had passed he had come to care for the small, abnormally quiet child who was so starved for affection that he gratefully ate up the awkward and stumbling care that Severus Snape was only beginning to be able to offer to him as the days were spent together in almost silent company.

No one had been more dumbfounded than the snarky potions master to find that he was the only one able to see and hear the traumatized child. And by the time it was discovered that the boy was none other than the orphaned child of his worst childhood enemy, James Potter, the boy was too deeply entrenched in his heart and in his life for him to react in any other way except to adopt him, to love him and care for him as his own child.

So now Severus Snape, evil git of the dungeons, sat enjoying the warm afternoon sun on a picnic blanket, the remains of a spectacular meal surrounding him as he sipped on ice cold butter beer, watching his son fly. His toy broom grasped tightly between small hands, a grin so wide it threatened to split the boy's face in two as he chased the large gold children's snitch that he had gotten as a present from Madame Hooch last Christmas.

The crackle of a small stick warned him that his glorious afternoon was about to be interrupted. He looked up to spy Remus Lupin and the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore, meandering through the mid June sun, heading directly for his blanket. He scowled as he thought that they were coming to gang up on him; that he most likely would not want to hear whatever they had to say.

Lupin had been hired last Christmas to tutor Shaun in basic non magical education and also to be close so that Severus could work on perfecting his new potion, Wolfsbane. Unfortunately, Shaun had not been satisfied with learning only non magical things and now they were most probably joining him to discuss summer plans to begin teaching Shaun magic.

He sighed, finished his butter beer and waved a hand in invitation to the two wizards to join him on the blanket, which they accepted with a grateful murmur of thanks.

Severus just waited, he would not start this conversation, after all, he wasn't too upset at leaving things the way they were. Albus looked over his half moon spectacles at the man he considered a son, sighed with resignation and began, "Ah, Severus, you know why we are here. The students have left, the staff has left and it is time to begin finding suitable peers for young Shaun. Remus and I have been over the lists of students that will be in his year and whose parents also belonged to the old Order of the Phoenix or have strongly supported the light and might have a need to protect their children from the remaining Death Eaters."

Severus frowned, "Just how many children are we talking about Albus?"

Remus smiled at his frown, "Now Severus, I have read up on young children and their schooling and I have found that the minimum group should be about four children, both boys and girls to about ten maximum. Though I really don't want to teach ten five year olds by myself, I am more than willing to help Shaun learn how to relate to other children his age or thereabouts."

Albus pulled a folded parchment from within his robes and tilted his head back to read through his glasses. "We have found Neville Longbottom, Susan Bones, Blaise Zabini, Terry Boot, and of course the four youngest Weasley children. Charlie, Bill, and Percy Weasley are either already attending Hogwarts, or in the case of Percy, he will be attending in another year and is too old to belong to this group. I would suggest that you and Shaun meet with each of these families individually over the summer and then if the children interact well, we could extend an invitation to their parents to send them to day school several times a week here at the castle. They would not have to attend every day, nor all day long if it is decided not to include them in any of Shaun's advanced classes."

Remus added, "Might I also suggest the Lovegood girl and perhaps the youngest Abbott girl, their parents didn't belong to the order, but they are firmly on the side of the light?"

"Ah, yes, that's a good suggestion, especially with Oddgard publishing the Quibbler," he waved his hand in dismissal at the startled look Severus gave him, "I know, it doesn't have the highest reputation, but it is widely read and is not controlled by the Ministry." Albus smiled and his eyes twinkled.

Severus scowled, "Do I have a choice in the children at all, Albus? Can't we just find one child for Shaun to play with, preferably a quiet, non-annoying child?"

Remus looked to Albus for support, "Severus, we've been over this. Shaun is too quiet and complacent. He is just beginning to act like a normal child and he still over reacts to loud noises and especially yelling. He needs to be around children his own age, both quiet ones and loud ones to realize what normal childhood behaviors are. He still shows signs of being traumatized and you know that he still turns invisible much too frequently. Surely even you know that that isn't normal?"

"Of course, but I just don't want to push him if he's not ready for it. I don't want to add any stress to his life." Severus sighed in frustration and resignation.

Albus patted Severus' knee in sympathy, "You know we won't push Shaun to do anything he isn't ready for, but if we don't try he won't ever succeed and it will just become more difficult as he grows older. He only interacts with the adults on staff; I haven't seen him willingly start even a conversation with a student, have you?"

"No, and in fact, he turns invisible almost instantly whenever he comes in contact with them closer than sitting at the head table, surrounded by us unless I am standing with him." Severus looked up to where the boy was still playing catch in the sunshine, he noticed unmistakable signs of fatigue and knew he would have to call him down to come take a nap soon. He stood and brushed the wrinkles out of his summer robes, "I suppose you could arrange to have them visit the castle, one or two at a time, Albus. I suppose we can handle that right now. Shaun, come down and say hello to Grandpa Albus and Uncle Moony and then it's time to go in for a rest."

Shaun turned and noticed the new men sitting on the blanket beside his father and smiled. He expertly landed the small broom and grabbed first one and then the other in a warm hug. "Did you see me; I can catch the snitch all by myself now. Daddy doesn't have to help with his wand at all any more!"

Shaun bubbled with happiness as he shared his day with the three wizards before saying goodbye. Holding tight to his daddy's hand he returned to the castle, leaving Remus to start planning invitations as Albus searched through the left over picnic basket to find any sweets that might have been left over.

* * *

Two days later, the two Snape men stood in the entrance hall, waiting for their first guests to arrive. Severus nervously knelt and straightened his son's lightweight summer robes and then stood and did the same to his own. He had started to wear colors last year instead of his favorite black robes, but he still much preferred very dark colors and had on robes that only showed they were green when the sunlight hit them. He and Shaun had short black ponytails tied with black ribbon in their hair and ankle high black boots.

The first to arrive was Neville Longbottom and his formidable grandmother. Luckily Shaun had plenty of practice watching his 'Grandma' Minerva show that exact same pinched lip expression to her students or Severus was afraid the boy would turn invisible and disappear right on the spot! Neville hung back and held onto his grandmother's hand tightly, shyly looking at Shaun from around his grandmother's overly large red handbag. Severus noticed Shaun's eyes widen when he caught sight of the stuffed vulture on the old lady's hat but his grip on Severus' hand just tightened and Severus squeezed it in reassurance.

Not a minute later, Mr. and Mrs. Zabini came through the entrance doors, their son Blaise walking between them. Severus looked him over surreptitiously. 'Well he wasn't swaggering like that imbecilic Draco Malfoy; he certainly looked much smarter than Goyle or Crabbe's sons, strong Slytherin background but definitely supported the light in the war. I could stand to have him friends with Shaun. Longbottom's boy seems to be very shy, but so is Shaun so they might be able to relate, but I really want to get Shaun over his shyness. Maybe Remus could work with both boys on that.'

The Great Hall had been set up for the initial introductions so Severus invited them in to begin lunch. There was a large table for all of the adults, Zyphram and Alicius Zabini, Agnes Longbottom, Albus, Remus and himself. The three boys had a small table just out of hearing range but still within watching distance. Severus had talked to Shaun several times over the last two days impressing upon him the knowledge that no one else turned invisible, that his daddy would be there and that he really needed to try to get to know these children as he would most likely be going to school with them at some point.

Severus seated himself so he was facing the small table and listened with only half an ear as the Headmaster and Remus explained their idea to the two sets of guardians. The three boys seemed to be getting along better without the adults; at least all three of them were eating Shaun's favorite fried chicken with crisps. As lunch progressed, he relaxed slightly. Neville and Blaise were talking animatedly and Shaun was even joining in every once in a while. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad he thought to himself.

The three boys had enjoyed flying with their fathers, though in Neville's case, Remus had volunteered to take him on the front of his broom for the flight. Agnes Longbottom had an annoying habit of overprotection and kept saying that 'poor Neville had never shown any signs of magic' and how 'all her family was afraid the poor dear was a squib!' Both Remus and Albus gave her calculating glares when she would say this loud enough for Neville to hear as he seemed to shrink each time he heard it.

Finally Albus explained that he had found the boy's names by checking in his Registry of Magical Children and that Neville was certainly a wizard or his name would not have even been in the book! He made sure to say it loud enough for the boy to hear. Neville stood taller and seemed to gain in confidence after hearing that. All three of the Hogwarts men decided that Neville would be coming to school with Shaun even if Shaun had hated him, which he obviously did not.

After Shaun was asleep that night, the three men sat in Severus' living room, drinking wine and discussing the afternoon. Albus shook his head in frustration, "Agnes was a good mother to Frank, I suspect she would like Neville to be safe after what the death eaters did to her son and daughter-in-law, but I just wanted to shake her this afternoon and make her see what she is doing to that poor boy's confidence!"

Severus snarled, "I would have done more than shake her if the children hadn't been there!" Remus just nodded his agreement and took another sip of the excellent wine. He took a quill and parchment out of his robe pocket and made a tick against the names Neville and Blaise. "Are we agreed that both boys should be invited to day school then?" Both Albus and Severus murmured agreement and Remus continued, "I know you have Charlie and Bill Weasley in potions already, so any objections to inviting the Weasleys next and then perhaps the last three families next week after the full moon?"

Severus waved a hand in dismissal, "I have no objections, Charlie is adequate, Bill could be quite good if he paid more attention in class, but neither of them is any more of a handful than other students. I suspect the others will be the same. I understand their mother home schooled all of them so they should be similar. I remember Arthur and Molly from the old order, and although Molly can be a little too mothering, they are both good acquaintances. Though perhaps you might invite Susan, Luna and Terry as well so that Shaun meets some girls also; I understand the youngest Weasley child is a girl."

Remus frowned, a small crease appearing between his faded eyebrows, "Do you think Shaun is up to that large of a group all at once? I was very proud of how he handled the two boys, but I'm not sure he's up to that large and loud of a group."

Albus chuckled, "I suspect that Severus just wants to get the group up and running as fast as he can so he can begin brewing again! I understand you have some difficult potions to replenish for the hospital wing that Shaun shouldn't be around."

"Well yes, I have some to brew that could be quite toxic for a young child, but I really think that Shaun could handle the group. He at least will recognize Bill and Charlie, and I assume a group this large and diverse will split up into smaller groups and allow him to observe them and join them as he feels comfortable with them. I am also interested to see the group dynamics amongst them all. We might also invite Blaise and Neville back to see how they all fit together."

Albus looked thoughtful before nodding slowly, "You have an excellent point. We will need to evaluate whether the girls fit in with the boys at this age and who reacts well or poorly among the group. It would do us no good to have several children that play well with Shaun individually but fight constantly with the others. I will set things in motion tomorrow. If there is nothing else gentlemen, I must finish some paperwork before I go to bed this evening. Goodnight." He put his empty wine glass down on the coffee table in front of him, stood up and left.

Remus stretched over the back of the arm chair he was sitting in and several vertebrae popped loudly. "Ah, that felt good. Do you need anything else, Severus?"

Severus waved dismissal without even saying a word and already had his head buried in a potions journal before Remus quietly shut the door that connected his quarters with the Snape's.

* * *

The full moon had come and passed before the day everyone had agreed upon to meet came to pass. Shaun was again standing excitedly in the front hall, bouncing on the balls of his feet as his father tried futilely to straighten his robes. "When will they be here, I like Neville and Blaise, can we go flying again, can we Daddy?"

"They will be here when they get here, and I am certain that we can fly at some point. The way the two Weasley boys fly I am certain that the whole family likes to fly as much as you do. Now stand still for a minute so I can fix your collar." Severus heaved a long suffering sigh. How had his life gotten so complicated in just a single year? Today was the anniversary of Shaun's arrival in his lab and he was amazed at the difference a year had made in both of their lives. And if he was truthful to himself, it was just as good an improvement for him as it had been for his son.

They heard the Weasley's long before they could see them coming up the path. Severus took Shaun's hand in his and squeezed it reassuringly. "I know that you can do this, Shaun, I know that you are scared but remember how scared you used to be and now you have two friends that you didn't have before. I will be near you and you can always come and take my hand if you need to."

Shaun bit his lower lip and looked up with trust and love, "I know Daddy. Uncle Moony and Grandpa Albus told me the same thing. I'm okay, Daddy, I can do this."

* * *

The thirteen children played tag under the watchful eyes of their parents for almost an hour before the group was called in to lunch. Charlie and Bill had taken it upon themselves to make sure that all of the children were included in the game of tag and that no one had been overly teased or picked on. Apparently they had talked to their younger brothers and sister about how shy Shaun was so no one had startled him or pushed him to join in the group if he didn't want to. Severus was pleased to see the interaction among the diverse group of students, though he was rather pleased that the third Weasley boy, Percy, wasn't being considered for inclusion in the group. He acted put upon and as if he was too good to be playing tag with a group of _children_.

Lunch had just begun when Remus joined them, still a little tired and pale from the full moon that had just passed. He sat next to Severus on his right and Arthur Weasley on his left. Remus looked startled and sniffed at Arthur's robes. A confused expression came over his face as he wrinkled his brow in concentration. A dawning look of comprehension was quickly being replaced with a face of pure rage. The wolf within the normally peaceful man was showing as he turned full on to the man beside him. "Arthur, would you by chance have a 'pet rat' in your household. A slightly fat, grey and brown rat with a long skinny tail; one about four years old?"

Arthur swallowed his bite and looked at Remus in confusion, "Why yes, Percy has a pet rat just like that that he just found outside one day, and now that you mention it, it is about four years ago that he got it."

Remus face became even more calculating, "And would said rat be missing a toe, perhaps on one of its front paws?"

Arthur looked at the werewolf in confusion, "How do you know that?"

Remus merely looked determined, "Does he have the rat with him today?" Remus' nose was twitching, reminding Severus that this close to the full moon, his senses would still be heightened from his transformation.

Arthur put down his fork and stood up, walked over to Percy and leaning down, whispered something into the boy's ear. Percy just nodded once, reached into his robes and pulled out a sleeping, fat rat and held it up to his father. Arthur took the rat in both hands and walked back to the adults table, carrying the rodent away from his body. The rat was still sleeping when Remus pulled his wand and shot a stunning spell at it.

The table erupted in startled shouts as Percy emitted a high pitched scream, Molly started yelling at Remus, Arthur dropped the stunned rat and shook his hands trying to relieve the tingling from the spell's backwash. Unseen by anyone, Shaun had flickered before disappearing and a small whoosh of sound was the only clue that he no longer sat at the table between Neville and Blaise and in fact was no longer in the Great Hall. Severus had grabbed Remus' wand and Albus was trying to calm everyone down, without much success. He placed his wand on his throat and casting a quick _Sonorous_ charm said, "Everyone sit down and be quiet. I'm sure Remus had a reason for stunning the rat. Let's let him explain!"

Remus sat heavily, shaking in reaction, gulping air as he tried to calm down enough to explain. "Albus, you need to cast a cage with anti-animagus spells and then force a transformation. If I am correct, that is no rat. I smelled something I have not smelled in four years, _someone_ I thought dead!"

With a complicated wave of his wand, a glowing green cage appeared around the stunned rat. With a nod, Severus, Arthur, and Albus cast simultaneously, forcing the rat into the stunned form of a short, slightly balding wizard. Arthur stumbled back, falling heavily into his chair, "Peter Pettigrew! But that means, that means…"

The color had drained from Albus' face and his eyes were steely blue and piercing. "That means that Sirius Black did not betray the Potters, and he certainly didn't kill Peter and the muggles. Amelia, could you arrange some trustworthy aurors? Severus, please go fetch some Veritaserum, Zyphram could you collect another member of the Wizengamot besides us for a tribunal. Molly, Agnes, and Alicius if you could take the children outside for a while, ask Hagrid to show them the Kneazle kittens he is raising for Minerva's niece. Thank you." Each of the named individuals hurried to complete their assigned task, they were all very curious to hear the story of Peter Pettigrew, a wizard supposedly dead at the hands of Sirius Black.

Molly and the other witches didn't notice that they were shy one child as they herded the still loudly complaining children outside and down the front steps. But Neville was looking for his friend and noticed. He walked over to his grandmother and asked, "Grandma, where's Shaun, is he still in the castle? I wanted to walk with him but I can't find him."

Agnes Longbottom looked around worriedly without spotting the small dark haired boy. Albus had explained the situation and the boy's 'special' abilities to them when he had extended an invitation for Neville to begin studying with him so she knew that he might simply have become 'invisible' but still be here. She called out to the children to stop and carefully asked them, "Have you seen Shaun? Is he here anywhere?" She knew the Weasleys and the others hadn't been told yet, they would not learn of this unless they would also be asked to join the study group.

Molly grabbed Charlie and Bill and told them to return to the castle to check if the boy had been left in the Great Hall. She had noticed the boy seemed to be very shy, something she found unusual since she knew he was being raised with Professor Snape in the castle. Of course both Charlie and Bill knew that Shaun became invisible in tense situations and they suspected that the little boy had simply chosen to hide and stay close to his father. They nodded to their mother and turned back as the rest of the group made its way down towards Hagrid's hut, the children running ahead and talking excitedly about the kittens they would be playing with, all thoughts of what had happened in the Great Hall quickly forgotten.

The two Weasley boys made their way quietly over to their father and explained the situation to him so that he could tell Professor Snape when he returned with the Veritaserum from the dungeons. Mr. Weasley looked stunned for a moment but quickly shooed his two eldest back outside with the rest of the children. Arthur walked over and stood next to Albus as he was speaking to the other member of the Wizengamot that Zyphram Zabini had brought through the floo. Albus noticed Arthur standing beside him and leaned over to him to find out what he needed. "I'm sorry to bother you Albus, but Charlie tells me that Shaun isn't outside with the others. He also mentioned something about Shaun may be 'invisible' if that is possible or makes some kind of sense to you?"

Albus reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose above his spectacles and nodded tiredly, "I should have expected him to hide. Yes, Arthur he can turn himself invisible when he is stressed in a situation and I suppose with the stunning, the yelling and the general turmoil, we should have checked on him. I will take care of it, thank the boys for me, and this is a secret for now, the other children are not to know about it, not even Molly at this point, please."

"I understand Headmaster; if you will excuse me I will go and assist Madame Bones with Peter Pettigrew." Arthur nodded once and left the group to continue their discussion of the implications of Pettigrew being found alive.

Albus motioned Severus to join them and pulling him to one side, explained what Arthur had told him about Shaun. Severus quickly handed the vial of Veritaserum to the Madame Bones and left the Great Hall to go check his own quarters to see if Shaun had popped himself home in his panic. As soon as he left the room he stopped for a moment and called, "Nippy!"

"Yes, Master Snape, can Nippy help you?" Nippy was the Snape house elf that Severus had brought with him to Hogwarts when he had moved there to begin teaching full time. Nippy was trained to help him in potions and had also been invaluable in helping to watch over Shaun when Severus needed him to. Unfortunately Nippy and the other house elves couldn't sense Shaun when he became invisible. They could only search for him and hope he would answer when they called him.

Severus didn't know that the Hogwarts house elves had taught Shaun how to become invisible and soundless as well as how to pop inside the castle. No one could apperate or disapperate within Hogwarts but the house elves had a totally different method of moving themselves instantaneously that wasn't the wizard's way so it wasn't blocked by that spell.

Severus brushed back a lock of his shoulder length hair that had escaped the ribbon he had tied it back with and knelt down before his trusted elf. "Shaun is frightened by what took place in the Great Hall and disappeared again. I don't know if he is still in the Great Hall, though I doubt it with all the strangers there now, but I don't have any idea where he might have popped to. I will check out our quarters, I need you to ask the other elves to search for him and then let me know if you find him. Please tell them to let him know that no one is mad at him and that it is okay to come and stay with me, he doesn't have to go outside with the other children if he doesn't want to. Thank you, Nippy." Nippy just nodded once and with a loud crack he disappeared from view to begin the search.

* * *

Shaun had 'popped' himself into his Grandpa Albus' office. He was afraid if he returned to his bedroom, his daddy would just make him go outside with the others and he was too afraid of them, they had been so loud, especially Percy, but all the Weasleys made him nervous. He sat on a straight backed chair and looked around. Grandpa Albus occasionally looked after him when Moony couldn't and his daddy was busy, but they usually stayed in either his rooms or Moony's rooms since all his books and toys were there. He had been up to his office a couple of times but always with his daddy and Grandpa there.

Shaun wandered around for a few minutes, looking but not touching all of the wonderful twirling, spinning, and whistling gadgets that seemed to cover every free space in the circular office. He looked up and spotted an owl stand but there was no owl on it, just a pile of dirty dust and bits of pretty red and gold feathers piled up around the base. He reached up to take a large, perfectly formed feather and snatched his hand back when the dust moved. He looked around but there was still no one in the office so his curiosity got the better of him and he pulled a chair over to get a better look.

A small, featherless head with a pointed gold beak pushed its way out of the dust and looked around. Shaun gingerly reached out a single finger to touch the baby. It was too small and helpless looking for him to be frightened of it. The bird chirped in contentment as Shaun stroked the top of its head gently, softly talking to it like his daddy did when he was scared. "Hey little, chicken, how are you? My name is Shaun, where's your Mummy? You are too little to be alone, Uncle Moony says babies need a lot of care and can't take care of themselves all alone. Do you want me to take care of you?"

The 'chicken' stood up, wobbling on its skinny legs and took a stumbling step towards the small boy who gently scooped him up in his hand. Shaun noticed the dust was really warm, perhaps it was the 'chickens' nest? Not knowing what else to do he used his other hand to carefully scoop as much of the dust as he could into his pocket and then placed the baby gently down on it and then took his handkerchief out of his pants pocket and covered the baby with it.

He climbed down and dragged the chair back to where it belonged. He had just begun looking at the wonderful silver instruments again when a pop announced that he was no longer alone. "Young Master Snape, Missy has been looking for you. Master Snape is worried about you and tells us that you's is not in trouble, no ones is mad but yous is to go to your daddy now. Missys will take yous to Master Snape now."

Shaun took Missy's hand and allowed her to pop them to his living room where he found his daddy waiting for him a worried expression on his face but Shaun could read no anger on his face or in his body language so he sighed in relief and ran to hug him, careful not to squash the chicken in his robe pocket.

When daddy sent him to go potty before they returned to the Great Hall, Shaun took off his robe and made a nest of it for the chicken on his closet floor. He grabbed another of his favorite green robes and shrugging it over his shoulders, returned to grab his father's hand to be taken back to the Great Hall.

* * *

Shaun had a hard time not going invisible again when Severus pushed open the doors to the pandemonium going on in the Great Hall. He tightened his grip on his father's hand and Severus, understanding the boy's fear, swung him up to sit on one hip, his free hand rubbing the trembling back in reassurance. Severus felt the small shakes start to fade and then stop completely as the boy realized that no one was watching him at all.

Severus stopped for a moment to sort out all of the activities going on and decided the group standing with Madame Bones was the one he was most interested in and walked over, still rubbing Shaun's back as the boy clung to his neck from his perch on his left hip. Madame Bones took one look at him and gave him a small smile, "That's something I never thought I would ever see, or believe! Good for you, Severus, you both look wonderful."

Severus nodded back at her with an equally small smile and turned to the group in front of her asking, "What has happened since I left?"

"We are waiting for two more Wizengamot members to have a full five judge panel, the two Aurors I called have taken Pettigrew into formal custody and the two clerks are here setting up to record the official proceedings. Albus has decided to just have a full hearing and trial right now, before that fool of a minister can find out and his buddies like Malfoy can influence what happens. I never did like the fact that there was no trial for Black, but that was before I was named the head of the Magical Law Enforcement branch and I have been blocked repeatedly on calling for one since then. I can only speculate that someone really doesn't want answers under Veritaserum coming out."

Severus agreed whole heartedly with her sentiments, but as a spy for Dumbledore he had been unable to tell anyone what was going on without blowing his own cover, besides, he had no love or trust for the ministry in general. After all, they had thrown him in Azkaban without a trial also, and it had taken all of Dumbledore's influence to get him released. And after all that, they were not willing to believe anything he said. He looked around and noticed the house elves moving the tables and making a court room set up appear.

He talked softly to Shaun and went to take a seat in the front row of chairs. He knew he would have to verify the brewing of the Veritaserum but other than that he was just a spectator. He sat with Shaun on his lap and looked pointedly at Albus until the Headmaster looked up and caught his gaze. Severus whispered to Shaun, "Disappear child or they won't allow you to remain with me." As Shaun complied, Albus noticed the child flicker and fade from sight. He gave the two a small nod of acknowledgement and understanding and turned back to the other judges.

It took another twenty minutes for the proceedings to begin and the room had gradually filled with witnesses. Oddgard Lovegood had called upon a reporter from the Daily Prophet that he knew was disenfranchised with the current Minister and would report things accurately and he had promised to run the full transcript in his Quibbler without editorial comment so they knew the Prophet would be forced to also run it rather that repress the news, since it was unflattering to the Ministry at best and downright accusatory if judged in total accuracy.

The head table was set up for the five judges of the Wizengamot and the two official clerks at either end. A chair with straps had been conjured and placed on the floor in front of them and Pettigrew was strapped in it, looking like a rat even in his human form. The aurors that Madame Bones had called, Alastor Gumboil and Gawain Robards, stood on either side of him wands out and ready to question him and make sure he did not escape again.

Two tables, with Madame Bones and several others at the right one, a token defense attorney sitting all alone at the left one, were sitting in front of the audience chairs. He looked vaguely upset since he had been unable to contact anyone outside of the castle after he had arrived just minutes ago. He knew there was absolutely nothing he could do, since the sentence involved the possibility of the Dementors kiss, Veritaserum was required and there would be no denying what was said under its influence. Pettigrew would admit his guilt or prove his innocence without his attorney contributing anything to the proceedings, but it was required for him to be a witness.

Remus Lupin was sitting beside Severus Snape, finally calm after taking a calming draught from the potions master, ready and willing to hold Shaun if Severus was called to do more than just state his verification of the brewing. Shaun had been told to crawl to Lupin if his daddy had to stand up and to try very hard not to be noticed by anyone there, so he sat with a leg to either side of his daddy's lap, his head back leaning in comfort against his chest, comforted by the gentle rise and fall of the man's breathing. He had hold of his Uncle Moony's hand underneath his daddy's arm and was waiting for his cue to move over if he needed to.

Albus Dumbledore, stately and powerful in his official plum robes with the stylized silver 'W' on the breast, stood and waved his wand to seal the doors to the Great Hall. He seemed to radiate power as he motioned to the clerk on his right to begin the trial of Peter Aloysius Pettigrew.


	2. Chapter 2: The Trial of Peter Pettigrew

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

AN: This story will not make much sense unless you read "Snape's Invisible Friend" before reading this. The story begins directly after the conclusion of SIF, summer just before Shaun/Harry turns five, June 1985.

AN: I will answer questions if you will leave them in a review for me, and I thank all of you who have read and reviewed all of my stories. I appreciate each and every one of you (well maybe not the flamers).

Chapter 2: The Trial of Peter Pettigrew

Albus Dumbledore tapped the end of his wand three times on the table in front of him and announced, "The trial of Peter Aloysius Pettigrew is now begun. Clerk read the charges." The small crowd assembled in the audience gallery of the Great Hall grew impossibly silent, the anticipation in the air so thick it was almost palpable. The sound of almost a hundred people quietly breathing was only disturbed by the rustling of a stack of parchments.

A short, balding man with spectacles that kept slipping down his narrow nose rose from the far end of the long staff table. He stood, nervously straightening his parchments once again. He picked up a long parchment and began reading importantly, "Trial of Peter Aloysius Pettigrew is now begun. Presiding judge, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Judges Zyphram Zabini, Griselda Marchbanks, Tiberius Ogden, and Druze Dearborn also present. Madame Amelia Bones present for the prosecution, Harold Arnold Dingle present for the defense. Head clerk Percival Papyrus recording the proceedings. Charges are as follows, accessory in the deaths of James and Lily Potter, murder of thirteen Muggles on November 1, 1981, being a Death Eater and being an unregistered animagus. Aurors Alastor Gumboil and Gawain Robards are present and prepared to begin the questioning of the accused."

Dumbledore nodded to the man as he sat again and placed his quill to the parchment to begin the transcript. He surreptitiously wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead before looking at Madame Bones and nodded to her to begin.

Amelia stood tall in her official red robes and looked directly behind her at Severus Snape. "Potion's Master Severus Snape, did you personally brew this vial of Veritaserum and directly place it into my hands this afternoon?"

Severus remained seated as he answered, "Yes, Madame Bones and I verify it's brewing and contents as accurate and potent."

She winked at him without anyone seeing, Albus had explained his son's unique abilities and why Severus would like to remain seated if at all possible. She turned back to the aurors and gave her permission to administer the potion to the bound man. "Auror Robards you may administer the Veritaserum to the prisoner."

As everyone's attention was focused on the two aurors and the prisoner, Severus gave Shaun several sips of a strong calming potion and whispered to the child, a firm but elegant hand resting warmly on the boy's shoulder.

The tall, thin, and graying auror gave a half bow to his boss and turned as Gumboil forced Pettigrew's mouth open. He carefully counted out three drops of the thick clear liquid and sealed the vial before placing it back into his pocket. The two waited for the potion to go into effect, watching for the glazing over of Pettigrew's eyes and the dazed and drugged expression to appear. Pettigrew's mouth hung open slack-jawed, a small bead of spit glistening on the corner of his mouth as he looked even weaker minded than normal. He was a short pudgy man with thinning nondescript hair that was combed in such a way as to unsuccessfully hide a growing bald patch. Severus noted the man looked remarkably like a rat even in his human form as he unconsciously patted his son's leg in silent support, the calming potion almost relaxing the child to the point of sleep, his nodding head heavy and warm against his father's chest.

Gumboil began the questioning, something he was very good at, as after all he had plenty of practice as the chief interrogator during the previous death eater trials that had taken place shortly following the fall of Voldemort. He thought briefly of being able to have used Veritaserum at all of those trials before turning to the rat at hand.

"Full name?"

"Peter Aloysius Pettigrew."

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"Did you betray James and Lily Potter to Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Gumboil always began with a series of yes and no questions, getting the subject used to answering and then following up with the leading and more open ended questions. By then the serum had long enough working in the system for the subject to fully open up and answer the really important questions instead of trying futilely to fight the compulsion that Veritaserum placed upon them.

"I let Sirius convince James and Lily to change their secret keeper to me so that I could tell my Lord where they were hiding."

"Was Sirius Black a death eater?"

"No, never."

"What happened to cause the explosion on November 1, 1981?"

"Sirius had found me. He knew I had betrayed the Potters. He accused me of betrayal in the middle of the street. I had to let him get close. I took out a knife and cut off my own finger. I yelled at him, 'How could you betray James and Lilly? They loved you and trusted you!' Then I took my wand behind my back and blew a hole down to the sewer under the street. I turned into a rat animagus and escaped down the pipes."

Pettigrew's flat inflectionless speech was even more horrifying to hear than if he had been steeped in emotion. The entire chamber erupted in a cacophony of outrage and upset. Dumbledore stood again and banged the end of his wand on the ancient oak table once again and called "Silence". The crowd only muttered and mumbled for a moment before complying with the powerful wizard's edict once more.

Severus had grabbed Remus by the arm and was holding him down with one hand while he fumbled in his robe pocket with the other, digging for the rest of the calming potion to administer to the man before the wolf took over. The distraught man had tears running down his cheeks in pain and fury as his odd amber eyes seemed to glow from within, the wolf clearly fighting for supremacy. Arthur leaned forward from behind the two and helped Severus keep the man in his chair, gripping the werewolf tightly on both shoulders. "It's okay Remus, he will go to Azkaban now and Sirius will be set free. Let the law handle it now, you don't need to be sent there with him for murder. Think of Sirius and Shaun, they need you." Arthur was whispering furiously at the man as Severus poured a calming potion down his throat.

Shaun had climbed on his Uncle Moony's lap and was hugging the man around the waist as tightly as he could, feeling the man's trembling rage slowly fade. Remus clutched at the small body holding him and shook with emotion. "Thank you, but I will be okay now, thank you, my friends." He whispered to both Severus and Arthur as they all three turned back to witness the interrogation. He was rubbing the back of Shaun's head, calming them both with the simple, reassuring motion.

Dumbledore called Gumboil over to talk softly to the auror in charge of the questioning. Gumboil leaned over the table and listened intently, expressions of disbelief and then understanding showing on the stocky man's face. He nodded, making his double chin wiggle, before returning to his place at Pettigrew's head. He looked once at Madame Bones who raised a single graying eyebrow in questioning but silent communication before he returned to interrogating the prisoner.

"Besides Voldemort, who took part in the raid on the Potters on Halloween night, 1981?"

"Malfoy, Nott, McNair, Crabbe, Goyle and me."

"Are all of them Death Eaters?"

"Yes."

"None of them was under the Imperious Curse?"

"No, they had all joined willingly years before."

"Is Voldemort truly dead?"

"No."

There was an outraged rumble in the room at this answer and Gumboil swiftly walked over to Madame Bones for further instructions at this unexpected answer. Gumboil admitted to her that Dumbledore had wanted the questions asked. Madame Bones stood up and circled around the table to continue the questioning herself.

"How do you know he is not dead?"

"That night his spirit escaped in a black cloud. He had done several rituals to ensure he couldn't be killed easily, but would be able to return again."

The room erupted in noise once again until Dumbledore threatened to completely clear the room. He called Amelia up to speak with him confidentially. He leaned over until his hooked nose was only inches from her ear, "Perhaps we should question him later under Veritaserum in private so that we will know exactly which rituals he performed so we will know how to counter them when he returns. I don't think we want that information published for the general public. I will also issue arrest warrants for the death eaters he named, perhaps under questioning, they could name others. They have been implicated in murder directly so Veritaserum is required for them as well." This last was said with a sparkle and an almost feral smile of triumph. No more claiming the imperious curse!

Gumboil administered the antidote to Pettigrew and the two aurors chained him with anti-animagus spells before removing him from the Great Hall to a Ministry holding cell. They had to almost drag the weeping little man as he tried to reach Remus Lupin, "Moony, they made me, I didn't want to do it; they forced me to!" He was still sobbing and yelling excuses as the bright flare of green flame in the massive hearth of the Great Hall flared around the three wizards, cutting him off in mid sentence as they floo-ed to the secure Ministry prisoner processing center.

Remus had stood up suddenly as his former friend, now a convicted traitor was being bound and Shaun slipped to the floor, grabbing onto his father's leg in shock as his Uncle Moony dumped him off his lap. He clung for only a brief moment before being snatched up in his father's reassuring grip and securely sat on one thin hip under the soft cloth of his summer robes. He grabbed his daddy around the neck and buried his head in the familiar shoulder hoping the frightening day would soon end.

Remus turned his back on his ex-friend, his shoulders shaking in silent rage as he battled the wolf within, the desire to kill the traitor so strong he was having great difficulty controlling it even with the calming potions that Severus had forced down his throat. He took several deep gasping breaths, his eyes gradually returning to normal as he forced the wolf into submission once again, his thin frame still shuddering with repressed emotions as he allowed himself to be guided once again to a seat.

Amanda Bones took the parchments with the arrest warrants and asked Arthur Weasley to watch Susan at the Burrow until she could fetch her; before she also floo-ed out to send aurors to arrest the named Death Eaters before their spies among the ministry could warn them. She also signed the paperwork to have Sirius Black released immediately from Azkaban and paperwork for Gringotts to freeze the vaults of the five to be arrested and to release any hold on the vaults of Sirius Black.

Oddgard Lovegood floo called his wife to come to Hogwarts so that he could go and work on a special edition of the Quibbler. She had remained at home that afternoon to work on a special spell she had almost completed. As a spell developer she sometimes was so caught up in her work that she would forget to eat or sleep but Oddgard and Luna loved her madly anyway. She absent mindedly stepped through, her bright pink robes rumpled and askew, a smudge of soot on her pale cheek; wisps of muddy blonde hair wreathing her disheveled hair like a messy halo. Oddgard kissed her fondly on the cheek and pushed her gently in the direction of the exit as he stepped through the large fireplace in the Great Hall to begin working on the special edition, his mind already focused on how quickly he could produce the paper and who he could count on to help at such short notice.

The Great Hall had almost emptied when Molly, Agnes and Alicius herded the group of still excited children inside. Fred and George had managed to turn Ron's hair blue and he was crying loudly while his mother was in full blown tirade against them. Ginny was clinging to her leg while Percy had his nose in the air, pretending that he didn't know them. Terry, Neville, and Blaise were all laughing at Ron's blue hair while Charlie and Bill were hanging back from the noisy group, trying to escape their mother's notice.

Molly finally reversed Ron's hair back to his normal flaming red as his angry sobs turned to hitching breaths. Luna and Hannah tried to pat Ron's back in sympathy but he was having none of it and as soon as his mother walked away to talk to Arthur, he charged his twin brothers and knocked them both over with full a body tackle, both arms spread wide to catch the older boys in the stomachs. With a twin whoosh of air, they both fell to the stone floor of the castle and let out simultaneous bellows of outrage.

Severus felt Shaun start to quiver on his hip, he felt his son's breaths start to hyperventilate and he grabbed him tightly, rubbing his back and whispering frantically into his ear. It was all for naught as Shaun disappeared from inside his daddy's arms with a soft sigh of displaced air. He was gone again; but this time he had waited long enough to say, "My room, daddy." before vanishing into thin air. Severus glared at the Weasley boys, freezing them in panic before swooping out, robes billowing menacingly behind him to return to their quarters and his panicking son.

* * *

Since last fall, their quarters had been located directly beside the Great Hall and could be accessed from a short hallway that was directly reached through a small door placed to the side of the staff table. Severus stalked down the short hall to the portrait guarding the rooms he shared with Shaun, muttering all the while about the potions he could make with parts from the Weasley boys. He was still glaring and angry at them when he stopped to look inside Shaun's room. He held onto the doorframe, forcing himself to calm down before he frightened Shaun even more. Shaun was very good at reading body language, something that had been very necessary for survival in the environment he had lived in before, but he almost always assumed that whoever was angry was always angry _at_ _him._ He certainly hadn't grasped the concept that someone could be angry _for him_ at someone else yet. And Severus wasn't sure exactly how to teach him that, he could only hope that Shaun would learn it with time.

"It's all right, son. I am not angry with you, I am angry with those boys for fighting like that. Don't worry; they won't be coming to school with you so you don't have to worry about getting along with them for a few years yet." He thought to himself, 'If I don't kill them during their first potions class with me, that is!'

Shaun poked his head out from inside his wardrobe where he had been petting the chicken; which had been very soothing and comforting for some unknown reason, and looked through his falling hair at his father's face. He only saw love and concern there, well, perhaps a little frustration, but no raging anger and he hadn't ever hurt him, not once! He gave the softly chirping chicken a last stroke on its featherless head, covered the small baby with his robe once more, and stood up in the wardrobe. Deciding it must be okay then, he scooted out and ran to his daddy, stretching his arms over his head to be picked up and hugged. Severus kissed the soft baby cheek and ruffled his son's long hair. "Shall we go back and see if everyone has calmed down yet, child?"

Shaun buried his head, sniffing deeply of the familiar smells of potions and sandalwood aftershave that he loved. The smell of his daddy's robes always made him feel safe and secure, even loved! He nodded his small head, rubbing his face against the soft fabric in comfort. Severus carried him back through the corridor and into the Great Hall, standing in the shadows at the back of the room to evaluate the situation before entering further.

'Ah the Weasleys have left, taking Susan Bones with them. The other children are all sitting at a small table with snacks and juice while the adults have a large table set up for tea. Shaun should be able to handle that, especially as it looks like Neville and Blaise left a space for him between them.' He put Shaun down and walked over toward the children's table, still holding tight to Shaun's hand in support. He sat the boy down, ruffled the top of his head once and left to join the lively discussion at the adult's table.

Shaun had pushed his father's hand away and tried to flatten his hair where he had messed it up. He glared at the man as he walked away; Neville patted his arm to get his attention. "Where'd you go Shaun, I was looking for you on the way to see the kittens. They were fun to play with. I missed you."

Luna looked sideways at him, not quite making eye contact as she admitted, "I don't like all that noise either, I wanted to go to my daddy, but I know he would just hand me off to someone else. I think you're lucky to have a daddy that picked you up and let you stay with him. I think he's nice."

Because she had admitted it first, the other four and five year olds were able to admit that the sudden stunning and then all the noise and turmoil had been scary for them too. Shaun felt relief to realize that he hadn't been the only one frightened and felt much better. He smiled at the group and filling his plate with food, he began to eat; listening to the others talk about the kittens and Ron's blue hair. He even laughed with them about Ron being able to push both bigger boys to the floor at once.

Albus nudged Severus and pointed a long boney finger towards a laughing and smiling group of children. Severus felt his worry shrink a little when he noticed that Shaun was a part of the group, talking and laughing as well. It looked like their tutoring group had been found, and thank Merlin; it didn't include those blasted Weasley boys!

Shaun was still visible and stood by his father to say goodbye to his visitors, without even needing to hold hands with him! But the day had been so long and stressful that Shaun was falling asleep in his soup at dinner and Severus picked him up, chuckling at the boy's futile efforts to remain awake and put his son to bed. Severus then called Nippy to baby sit and left their quarters to walk up to the Great Hall for his own dinner and to discuss everything that had transpired that day with the remaining staff and visitors.

* * *

Fawkes scooted, pulled with his beak and wriggled his small body out of the nest that the little one had so nicely made for him. He could tell that the little one was again close to him and he felt drawn to the fledgling. He could tell there was something special with the little one; he had felt compassion and loving so pure and innocent that he just had to be near the little one again. He wobbled across the dark room, stumbling over the edge of the thick rug as he got closer to his target. He looked up in frustration at the cliff that rose above him. With as much of a sigh as a phoenix was able to make; he reached up one sharp claw and took a firm grip on the fabric. It took him the better part of an hour using both sharp claws and needle pointed beak but sheer determination allowed him to reach his objective. He trilled in triumph and weariness as he snuggled down under the fledgling's blankets, his featherless head resting on the little shoulder as the small chest rose and fell in deeper and deeper sleep.

* * *

Dinner in the Great Hall was finally over and the staff was finally free to adjourn to Albus' office to discuss ramifications of the day's startling turn of events and to begin planning what to do now. The gargoyles opened without a password as the group was deep in animated discussion and apparently wasn't even cognizant of where they were. No one even missed a syllable in their conversations as they all trudged up the familiar worn steps and through the heavy carved oak door that allowed entrance into the circular office. Even the portraits were so deep in debate over possibilities that they didn't try to pretend to be sleeping.

"Yes Remus, we will fetch Sirius first thing tomorrow. Poppy, will you be available to attend to him in the hospital wing or should we have him directly admitted to St. Mungo's for care?"

"I suspect the poor man wouldn't receive a moments rest there, Albus. You know the gawkers and the reporters would never leave the man in peace. It would be much better for him to be here and as its summer, I don't see a problem with caring for him in the private room in the infirmary. Who knows what shape the poor man is in, I mean, _four years_ with those **despicable** _Dementors_ and he was innocent the entire time! It's an outrage what the ministry did!" Poppy's normally soothing and tranquil voice grew louder and shriller with each word spoken in indignation.

Remus patted the medi-witch's arm in thanks, "I am sure at the least he is terribly malnourished and in need of basic care. I hope he's still sane, I should have pushed for a trial, but…" The anguish and guilt were plain on the worn face of the grieving and hurting werewolf.

"Remus, you know that the evidence was almost overwhelming and that both Amanda and I have been pushing for a trial for him ever since Cornelius Fudge took office last summer without success. The only thing you pressuring Minister Crouch for a trial would have done would have been his investigating you closely and you know if your 'condition' had been found out then, you would have been killed yourself." Albus walked around the end of his desk to place an aged arm around the younger man's shoulders in caring and support.

Severus turned to Poppy, "I have developed several nutritional potions for Shaun if you think they would be useful in caring for Black. I admit I still do not care for the man, but after becoming friends with Remus I will attempt to at least _tolerate_ the man. And I am not…_unsympathetic_…to him after four years in Azkaban." Poppy nodded in agreement and Remus looked at the potions master in stunned surprise at his thoughtful but totally unexpected offer.

Albus looked at Severus in fondness, and beaming with pride he tried to explain, "I know that you would have liked to have had me expel Black for his enticing you to follow Remus on the night of a transformation, but I feel I must explain why I did not; now that he will be here in the castle and a confrontation would be almost inevitable. As you were well aware, Sirius was the only one of the Blacks to not fully support Voldemort. I understand his pranks often touched the line of being cruel or even malicious but he had not crossed the line and, as you know, he was seldom actually caught and you for one never complained to a teacher so that we could have done anything about them. I hoped to keep him from aligning with Voldemort and giving him another very strong supporter, especially after his brother Regulus was killed and he inherited the entire Black family fortune."

"But most importantly, any expulsion is automatically reviewed by both the Governors of Hogwarts and the Ministry. We would have been unable to contain the knowledge that Remus was a werewolf under that close a scrutiny and at that time, Minister Crouch would have had him _immediately_ killed without a moment's hesitation. I did not want _either_ you _or _Sirius responsible for having a classmate summarily **_killed _**by the ministry. I also did not want _Remus to be killed_ so the best I could do was detentions and house points."

"James and I explained all of that very forcefully to Sirius after that, and we tried to keep him from targeting you, or anyone else, with cruel pranks after that. I don't know if you noticed or not but the relationship amongst the three of us took some time to rebuild and Sirius was _never_ as deliberately cruel after that. I want to stress to you again that _neither James nor I_ knew what he had planned or anything about it before James stopped you from following me that night! I know both James and I tried to tell you that on several occasions but I don't think you wanted to hear it then. I hope you will accept my apology now for the senseless and stupid things we did to you." Albus and Remus looked at Severus with hope and concern for the man who had been hurt so badly as a youth and that they had both come to care for deeply.

Severus thought about his answer for several moments before beginning, "I must admit I made myself a target by not fighting back and I also refused anyone's help. It is in the past and I made my peace with James when I realized the boy I love; my Shaun, _my gift_, was actually a gift from both James and Lily Potter. I cannot hate the man who made my son possible, especially as it was his _death_ that made it possible. And I suppose four years in Azkaban is enough punishment for _anything_, let alone a few tasteless pranks!" Severus admitted and turned away from the intense scrutiny of the others watching him so closely.

Severus dragged his hand through his thick hair several times while trying to control his emotions at the day's revelations before he turned back to Albus. He relied on his normal sarcasm to help him speak more normally, "That's taken care of the matter of Black until we actually see if he is in any kind of _salvageable state_; what are we to do about the rest?"

Albus' eyes were twinkling as he watched all of his boys grow up and leave the bitter rivalries of childhood behind; he sighed as he hoped he would be as successful with Sirius Black before turning to other matters.

The talk turned to how best to use the immanent arrests of the five named death eaters and how to take advantage of the inevitable upset at the Ministry. No one there was totally shocked at the news that Voldemort hadn't completely died that night, though they were all disappointed that it hadn't been so. Albus admitted that until he knew the exact spells Voldemort had used to insure his continuing existence, that there was very little they could plan at this time.

Only Severus and Albus were left in the old man's office, discussing the interaction of the children over a cup of hot tea when Albus realized what he had been missing all evening.

"Severus, have you seen Fawkes? It was a Burning Day only yesterday so he is still featherless and quite helpless. He becomes quite childlike for at least two or three days after a burning and has to be fed and cared for like a baby chick." Albus had gone over to Fawkes' stand as he talked over his shoulder. "Even the ashes from his burning are gone, that's strange. All of the house elves that are authorized to come to my office know they are never to touch Fawkes perch at any time, especially close to a Burning Day."

The Headmaster was clearly upset and worried at the loss of his familiar as he ran his hand again and again through the small amount of ashes that were left at the base of the phoenix's perch. He seemed unable to think at the moment, something that Severus had never witnessed in all of his years with the old man. Severus called the only house elf that would respond to his call individually. "Nippy!"

"Yes, Master Snape, I'se is watching young Master Snapes just as you ordered, sir. Young Master is sound asleep." Nippy gave a half bow and looked up expectantly.

"Do you happen to know where the Headmaster's phoenix is? Have any of the other house elves said anything to you?" Severus had knelt down on one knee to be at the little creature's eye level before speaking softly to him, not wanting their conversation to disturb the obviously distraught headmaster.

"Oh, yes, Master Snape. Headmaster Dumbledore's phoenix is sleeping with young Master Snape, he's is looking very funny sirs, he is having no feathers! Young Master has been feeding him grapes and chunks of pineapples, sirs!" Nippy stopped and hesitated, he didn't want to get young Master in trouble, "Is Young Master in trouble, Master Snape? Nippy is not wanting to get young Master in trouble, sir."

Severus stood and patted Nippy on the shoulder, "No, Shaun isn't in any trouble; from me at least, please return to them and I will bring the Headmaster to our quarters momentarily. Thank you, Nippy, you may go now." With a loud crack the creature disappeared from view and Severus walked over to his friend and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Albus? Albus?" It took several tries for Severus to catch Dumbledore's attention fully. He led the wizard over and sat the man down on a chair and took both of the wrinkled and weathered hands into his own to direct Albus' attention to what he was telling him.

"Albus, Nippy tells me that Fawkes is sleeping in bed with Shaun right now. It seems the two have been eating grapes and pineapple and then went to sleep together. I don't know how they came to be together but we can go fetch Fawkes right now if you like."

"Oh, yes, yes, I guess we could go now. I have never misplaced Fawkes since we bonded over seventy-five years ago and I guess I am more upset by the thought that I could lose him than I ever imagined. You say he's with Shaun? How did he get there, he's featherless right now?"

"Nippy didn't know so I suppose we will have to ask Shaun. Shall we go now, Albus?" Severus used a hand under Albus' arm to get him to stand up and begin walking out of the office together. Severus was a tall man and fairly athletic but that evening he had a hard time walking fast enough to keep up with a man almost five times as old as he was. He barely got out the password to open the door to his quarters before Albus was barreling through the door to Shaun's bedroom. Severus had to stop suddenly to keep from running into the back of the headmaster as the old man froze at the threshold. Unable to see around the back of the man so close to him; Severus was a little surprised to hear the old man start chuckling and then softly laugh.

Albus turned quickly, seeming surprised to find Severus so close behind him and just motioned him back out into the living room where the headmaster sank into a chair in front of the slowly dying embers of a fire. Severus took a moment to gaze at his son, sound asleep with the head of a featherless phoenix snuggled up on his chest before shaking his head; he joined the old man in front of the fire. He stopped to pour two fingers of brandy into each of two snifters. He swirled one, breathing in the aroma deeply as he handed the other one to Albus before taking an appreciative sip.

Severus folded his long legs into the other soft and worn armchair, leaned his head back and sighed in satisfaction at the warmth of the fire, and the relief of a comfortable chair at the end of a long and very trying day.

Albus took a grateful sip of his own, and sighed as the warmth spread down his throat and into his chest. "It looks like Shaun has found another friend. I suppose Fawkes was drawn to the boy's distress and fright. I will fetch him in the morning, if that is all right with you?"

Severus was too tired to do more than just nod as the two sipped their brandies in companionable silence, just watching the embers die before heading off to their own beds, thankful this day was finally over.


	3. Chapter 3: A Sirius Matter

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

AN: This story will not make much sense unless you read "Snape's Invisible Friend" before reading this. The story begins directly after the conclusion of SIF, summer 1985, just before Shaun/Harry turns **_five_**.

AN: I will answer questions if you will leave them in a review for me, and I thank all of you who have read and reviewed all of my stories. I appreciate each and every one of you (well maybe not the flamers). I have corrected a couple of minor errors that were pointed out to me in the last two chapters and I thank the reviewers who pointed them out to me.

AN: To answer a question, OOTP states that Luna's mother died as the result of a badly developed spell when Luna was nine. I am assuming that Luna was just slightly too young to begin in the same year as Harry and the others, so in my fiction she is four years old now and will turn five just after the September 1st cutoff for beginning school with the others; thereby making her back by one year.

Chapter 3: A Sirius Matter

When the Snapes joined the rest at the table for breakfast in the Great Hall the next morning, Albus immediately turned to Shaun and with a twinkle in his eye, he asked "Shaun, how did my phoenix, Fawkes, come to be sleeping with you last night?"

Shaun looked down at his pancakes and bacon, shame turning his cheeks scarlet as he stammered an answer. "I…sort of popped…into your office. When I was scared, I mean, when Uncle Moony…stunned…that rat, I was so scared that I kind of… popped."

Albus lifted the small chin with his hand and looked deeply into the small boy's green eyes. "And?" he encouraged.

"Your baby chicken was all alone, without his mommy, and he was… lonely and…" Shaun's voice trailed off while several of the staff members tried to recover gracefully after either choking on a bite of food or spitting a drink at the thought of Albus' magnificent phoenix being called a 'chicken', let alone a 'baby chicken'.

Albus' eyes were twinkling merrily as he again encouraged the boy. "And…"

"I put him in my pocket and took him home so he wouldn't be all alone. And then he said he wanted to sleep with me….so we did." Shaun tried to lower his head so he could hide from his grandfather's piercing gaze.

Severus was watching closely, after the day the boy and everyone else had had yesterday, he wasn't sure how far Shaun could be pushed before he would completely disappear. So he didn't miss the quickly gone flash of interest and astonishment that appeared and then disappeared from Albus' face, when Shaun had said something about Fawkes 'saying' something to the boy.

"You can talk to Fawkes, child?" Albus' voice was soft but direct. Very few people could withstand a direct question from the powerful wizard when he looked directly into your eyes and used that soft but compelling voice, and Shaun was no exception.

"Yes, sir, but it's kind of like talking to a little baby. He just says stuff like, 'hungry' or 'sleepy'. I guess …when he gets older… he'll be able to talk better maybe, I think?" Shaun didn't like to be subjected to such intense scrutiny from anyone, even those he loved and trusted like his grandfather. He was showing signs of panic that Severus had gotten very good at reading over the past year. Severus caught Albus' eye over the small black haired head, and quietly shook his head 'no' at the older man. Understanding flashed through the blue eyes as Albus backed off and smiled at the child.

"Well, it's obvious that Fawkes likes you and you did a wonderful job of caring for him yesterday. Perhaps I can ask you to take care of him again today since I will have to be out of the castle and I don't know when I will return. Would you like that, Shaun?"

A large smile graced the boy's face, lighting up his expression, and making his strikingly beautiful and large green eyes glow with excitement. "Yes, sir, and I will take the best care of him. You can count on me, grandpa!"

Shaun turned to his father and began excitedly babbling to him as Albus touched Remus' hand where the man was sitting beside him on the other side, moving his food from one side of his plate to the other in a vain pretense that he was actually able to eat anything that morning. Albus looked at the nervous man in sympathy, "Shall we go then, Remus? It is a long journey to Azkaban, and I know that you are most anxious to retrieve your friend. Do you have the clean robes for him?"

Remus patted a small bag sitting at his feet in response. "Yes and a pouch of potions that Severus thought would be most helpful until we can get him back to Poppy in the infirmary." His voice shook with emotion as he tried to get his feelings under control, anger at the betrayal of a man he had thought a friend and a dead hero, guilt at the four long years he had thought another friend a betrayer and murderer, and the hope and anticipation at the immanent release of that friend. And the genuinely frightening concern that there might not be enough of that friend's mind left to make his release meaningful.

The two stood and left the room, buoyed by the hopes and best wishes of all those who remained. Severus stood up and led his son back to their rooms, quietly contemplating on the long talk he would be having today with Shaun about exactly who the man yesterday had been, and who the new man coming to the castle was. He was not looking forward to his day at all and was grateful that Fawkes would be there to help.

* * *

Remus and Albus strode purposefully and quickly down the path towards Hogsmeade, too intent upon passing the anti-apparition wards to even see the beginnings of a clear and beautiful early summer day spreading the promise of sun on the neatly manicured lawns of the castle. A slight haze of mist still hung to the ground, already turning to thin wisps where the long fingers of the dawn sun touched it. The dew still glistened on the leaves of the many rare and magnificent species in the Forbidden Forest but they went unseen by the pair as they silently passed; each deeply lost in their own thoughts.

The giant squid floated languidly, shooting spouts of lake water at Fang as he ran around Hagrid who was busy catching fish to feed to several of the more 'innerestin' creatures he had acquired to teach about the next term. With only a mumbled greeting to the half-giant, the long legs of the two wizards carried them swiftly past the pastoral beauty of the castle nestled in the Scottish highlands, through the towering, magnificent iron gates and to the closest apparition point to the castle. With a duet of almost silent cracks, the two disappeared, only to reappear instantaneously in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic itself.

Mad-Eye Moody, his artificial magical eye spinning in a bizarre and slightly nauseating fashion, stood firm on his wooden leg beside the familiar figure of Auror Gumboil who looked more like an apple in his official red robes than an imposing menace of a trained wizard constable. His short stature, round belly, double chins and pale, balding head stuck up over his bright red robes made him a more fitting ad for a diet plan than an imposing figure of authority! But Albus knew that if Moody had selected him to accompany him on their trip to Azkaban that the man's looks must be deceiving.

"Ah, Albus, right on time. I have the paperwork all signed and ready to go. We'll need to go down to the ministry processing center to catch a portkey directly to Azkaban. And I have one for the return trip that will take the three of you directly to the hospital wing at Hogwarts."

Albus greeted his old friend warmly, grabbing one of his hands in both of his, he shook them while exclaiming, "Thank you, Alastor, that is most appreciated. I know that Remus is most anxious to retrieve Sirius, so if we might be on our way?" He gave the man's hand a final squeeze and patted it gently before letting go once again.

The two aurors, one so intimidating that people instinctively moved out of their way and the other looking like he belonged sitting in a booth drinking a pint of stout at the Leaky Cauldron, turned together and led the way to a bank of elevators that were standing in one corner of the atrium. Moody flicked his right arm, his wand sliding almost instantaneously into his grip and touched the tip of it to a slight indentation in a brass plaque beside the farthest left elevator. This elevator appeared to have no controls, but it opened instantly at the touch of the old, battle-scarred Auror's wand.

As he waved the others in first he explained to Remus, "Direct express down to the courtrooms and the processing center for aurors and prisoners only. We've got permission from Madame Bones herself to use it so we don't run into any reporters or busybodies from Minister Fudge's office. Seems they want to do damage control this morning and make it seem like Fudge was responsible for '_freeing an innocent man from his horrendous fate' _or some codswollop like that. More like covering his ass, but it ain't gonna work, too many people and too much paperwork over the year that proves he and his cronies blocked every attempt to give Black a trial."

Albus nodded sagely, "We left before the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler were delivered; how is this being received by the public?"

Gumboil snorted, "Cornelius Fudge will be lucky if he isn't standing in the docket with Malfoy when the trial begins in ten days. Both papers published the entire transcript and it seems that some slick reporter found a couple of memos that Fudge had signed just a couple of months ago saying that Black was so obviously guilty that there was absolutely no reason to go to the fuss and expense of a trial."

Remus perked up for the first time since entering the ministry, "They got Malfoy then? How about the other four?"

Moody looked like Christmas had come early that year, but his big smile looked _frightening_ and just **_wrong_** with his scars, wildly spinning piercing blue eye, and a big chunk gone from the end of his nose. "They grabbed Malfoy before the ink was dry on that warrant and had him in custody and drinking _Veritaserum _before tea time yesterday. He not only gave up the four that Pettigrew knew of, but did him one better and named five more that we didn't know about, including three that worked here in the Ministry, two of them were even aurors, Blackstone and McNally. They were both called into an 'emergency' last night and captured without a word leaking out. So we got all of them, and now we are going after the new ones that old Lucius named."

Gumboil nodded in satisfaction, "Yes, sir and the vaults of all those named were frozen at Gringotts pending the outcome of the trials, which are already scheduled to begin in just ten days. So there will be no buying their way out this time, not that they could after taking _Veritaserum_." He sounded inordinately pleased with the accomplishments his department had managed in the last two days.

Moody laughed out loud, "I expect old Fudge would try to plan a big press conference and claim all the credit while he gives Lupin a Medal of Merlin for finding Pettigrew if it wouldn't kill him to have to pin one on a werewolf!"

"I might even accept one from that fraud just to see his face!" Even Remus managed a smile and a small laugh at that.

The filigreed brass doors of the elevator opened at that moment and the four exited into a long cold, stone passageway. They were deep within the bowels of the Ministry of Magic, almost a mile under the very heart of London. Flickering torches spaced every 20 meters provided only a dismal light, barely enough to keep from tripping on the imperfections in the granite floor, the center was worn smooth from the thousands of feet that had trod it over the centuries, but the edges were uneven in their wear and could trip the unwary visitor.

Moody led the way confidently and quickly through the maze of corridors until they came to an incongruously brightly painted red door. He knocked twice briskly and the sound echoed within. Footsteps behind the door heralded it being opened long before the handle began to turn, and the four shuffled into a plain square room. It was simply furnished with a single desk, covered in old newspapers and empty coffee mugs with a single canted dining room chair sitting in front of a dilapidated metal filing cabinet that leaned crazily to one side; its drawers loosing the ability to be completely closed decades ago, folders and individual parchments sticking out at crazy angles. In the center of the room a small oval table, legs carved and turned in delicate patterns sat looking totally out of place, a meter long rope with a large knot tied in each end lay on its intricately inlaid surface.

Moody nodded his head at the grizzled old guard whose hair and beard were the same faded grey as his stained and tattered robes, "Everything okay, Jacob? Do you need to check Mr. Lupin's bag before we go or is my visual scan okay. I see a pouch of healing potions, and a set of clean robes and undergarments; as well as a big slab of Honeyduke's best dark chocolate."

"Nay, you's okay to go. Jus' grabs hold of the rope over on yonder table, and I'll count ye down." Jacob grinned, showing more gum than teeth; those few teeth left were rotten and coffee stained and made Gumboil, who was nearest to him, flinch at the wash of bad breath that hit him.

Remus pushed both arms through the straps of the small backpack and all four of the men grabbed tightly to the rope. Moody's maniacally spinning blue eye checked everyone's grip and finding everything satisfactory, he nodded at Jacob who began counting, "Three, two, one…activate!"

With a tremendous jerk behind their navels, the four men spun and swirled in a nauseating twirl of colors and flashes of light and dark before their feet slapped down on the uneven ridges of a small rectangular wooden room. The few specks and streaks of paint still attached to the walls testified that the room had once, many years ago, been painted white, but now the wooden walls had faded to an uneven grey. There were no windows and only one small door with a small barred opening at eye level height. The sounds of waves hitting the shore and the smell of salt water, dead fish and miscellaneous rotting sea plants and creatures, caused Remus to involuntarily gasp as his werewolf senses were almost overpowered.

Moody yelled out, "Moody, Gumboil, Dumbledore, and Lupin to accompany the release of prisoner Sirius Black."

A deep voice yelled back to be heard over the noise of the sea, "Hey Moody, what did you eat at my house last Tuesday?"

"Fish and Chips and the best chocolate cherry cake I ever tasted. You sure married above yourself, Roger!" Was the chuckled answer.

The door opened and a tiny little man with shoulder length dirty blonde hair tied back into a ponytail walked in, complaining bitterly, 'Dang them bureaucrats, never have gotten around to making it possible for me to see through that bloody peep hole. Hey Moody, you got the paperwork ready?" The deep melodious voice coupled with the tiny little man would have made the others laugh if the incongruity hadn't been so shocking.

Moody handed a thick sheaf of parchment over to the small man as he led them out into a small guard shack set on the end of a long dilapidated wooden pier. The glorious day that began in Hogwarts was now overcast, drizzling and dreary. If they hadn't known it was the end of June, you would have bet it was February or March by the cold and wet weather. Remus and Albus both involuntarily shivered in their summer robes as they looked around at the depressing vista.

Roger, just glancing at the official parchments before leaving them on his desk under a large rounded grey rock, opened the outer door and motioned the four to follow him to a large wooden rowboat that was tied to the very end of the pier. He waved his arms to dislodge several large seagulls as they walked, treading carefully on the wave slick surface. Roger climbed down into the boat, sprightly and surefooted with long experience, he reached back and assisted first Alastor and Albus into the second bench seat and then Remus and Gumboil into the third one. He left the first and the fourth benches empty to keep the weight more evenly balanced. He climbed back out, deftly untied the tie-downs and with a shove from his foot and a wave of his wand, he sent them on their way.

* * *

Severus sat on the couch in their quarters, Shaun snuggled up on his lap, and Fawkes curled up in Shaun's lap. Shaun's hands never stopped petting the phoenix that had the beginnings of soft gold and crimson feathers today and was looking much better than yesterday. Fawkes was trilling very softly and Severus could feel the gentle wash of calm and tranquility the bird was giving to his son. He made a mental note to ask Albus what the phoenix's favorite treat was, because he was earning the potions' masters undying gratitude today.

"So your _Mummy_ and _Daddy James_ had to hide from the evil wizard. But that man yesterday that Uncle Moony stunned? He knew where they were hiding and he told the bad wizard where they were." Severus was holding Shaun close to his chest with his left hand, his right hand was absentmindedly stroking through Shaun's almost shoulder length black hair. The baby soft but thick hair glistened with health as the gentle strokes soothed both father and son while they continued to talk.

"Why Daddy, why did he tell the bad man?" Shaun cocked his head back over his shoulder so he could see his Daddy's face; as Fawkes trilled a little louder.

"I don't know why, child. Some people just do bad things and nobody knows why. But he told the evil wizard and that wizard killed your Mummy and Daddy James and made the scar on your forehead. And then because your Mummy and Daddy James were dead the man yesterday ran away and no one knew where he was. So the man your Mummy and Daddy James wanted to take care of you, your godfather Sirius, he was mad at that man, Peter, and he went to ask him why he killed your parents. Do you understand so far?"

"I think so, that man Peter, wasn't he in my book? The one that you read to me sometimes about Mummy, Daddy James and me?"

"Yes, but everyone thought that your godfather, Sirius, had told the evil wizard and that Peter was dead trying to help you. And then yesterday, we found out that Peter was the bad man and that Sirius wasn't."

"So Uncle Moony and Grandpa Albus went to go get the good man, Sirius, that everyone thought was a bad man and put in jail?"

Severus sighed with relief; Shaun understood this better than he had expected him to. He thought about what he was going to say next before beginning. "Yes, child, and they are going to bring him back to the castle today. Because he has been in jail for so long, he is very sick and they will bring him to Madame Pomfrey to make better. Then after he gets better, you may go and meet him if you would like. But you don't have to if you don't want to, I won't make you, child."

Shaun nodded as he scratched Fawkes under the chin. "Maybe, I don't know yet. Uncle Moony was crying last night, is he afraid of this man?"

Severus chuckled, "No, they were best friends with your Daddy James. And you used to know Sirius before your Mummy and Daddy James died and you went to live with your Aunt and Uncle. He was supposed to be the one to be your new daddy, but the ministry put him in jail because they thought _he_ was the bad man, but we found out yesterday that he wasn't, _Peter_ was."

Shaun turned and looked up at his Daddy in concern, "I don't have to go now, do I? You're my Daddy and I don't want anyone else!" There were tears threatening to spill down the pale cheeks as his lip quivered in fear. Severus could feel his small body start to tremble even with Fawkes still trilling on his lap, singing louder and louder as he felt the small boy's distress mount.

Severus wrapped his arms around his son in a fierce grip and rocked him back and forth, "**_NO,_** Shaun, you never have to leave me. I am your Daddy _now and forever_. If you find you like Sirius, he can remain your godfather. He can be much like your Uncle Moony, but if he makes you afraid or scared, we can tell Moony not to have him come around when you are there. But we don't have to decide anything today or even anytime soon. We will take it one day at a time. Remember, you will always be _my_ gift, _my Shaun_ and _no one_, **_no one_** can take you away from me!"

'And if he ever _tries_ they won't find enough pieces of him left to ever pin a murder on me!' he thought as he kissed the top of his son's head, fiercely protective and defensive of what was now HIS! He would allow Sirius to visit his son while the boy was in Remus' quarters if he had to, but the man would never take his son from him if he had to poison the miserable git!

* * *

The four wizards pulled their cloaks tighter to themselves as the rowboat shuddered and tossed through the waves splashing them with grimy salt water spray, as they moved closer to the ever nearer and more depressing sight of the looming dark stones of Azkaban. The ancient fortress radiated misery and doom from every dark stone and turret. The hopelessness and fear almost radiated in a palpable manner as they traveled close enough for the icy chill despair of the Dementor guards to shoot through them, removing any happy thoughts and feelings and leaving behind anguish and depression. Remus pulled the small navy blue backpack off his back and reaching in, he unwrapped the huge block of chocolate, and broke off a piece for each of the men; receiving grateful nods of thanks as they each allowed the warmth of the intense chocolate flavor to dispel some of the despair.

"What is it like in there, if this is how bad it is when the Dementors have gone off the island to allow us to land and remove Sirius?" Remus wondered aloud.

"Aye, lad, you don't ever want to experience the island first hand if you can avoid it. I just hope that Sirius hasn't given up. If he could cling to the thought that he wasn't guilty perhaps there is some hope that he will recover in time." Moody wasn't very encouraging.

Remus spoke so softly that Albus wasn't sure that he had heard him correctly, "But what if he blames himself for trading secret keepers?"

It had seemed as if an eternity had passed as the rowboat traveled the way through the choppy seas to Azkaban, though in reality it was less than 20 minutes. They all heaved a sigh of relief as the dark smudge on the horizon grew to be a large black blotch, then a tall imposing black edifice, and finally a narrow wooden dock came into view on the lee side of the island. They all scrambled out as a nameless house elf scrambled to tie the boat to the rickety, slightly leaning dock. The elf turned and waved at them to follow it into a small open door in the base of the nearest tower. Remus leaned back as they entered but was unable to see the top rising high above them.

Luckily they only had a very short distance down a dank and slimy hallway before they came to another open door. The large room was depressingly dark, lit only by a few irregularly spaced torches and the dim light filtering in through a series of small very dirty windows nearly at ceiling height. A pair of human guards stood at either end of the room, watching the single sitting occupant. A gaunt, almost skeletal form sat rigidly straight at a tall armed chair in front of a square blocky table. The chair was equipped with straps and chains but they were lying un-used on the floor beside the almost catatonic figure.

Remus gasped and ran the few steps forward to kneel at the side of his old friend. He reached up one hesitant hand to stop just inches from the matted, greasy graying waist length black hair. Unnoticed tears trickled down his cheeks as he searched the immobile unblinking countenance of the man he had thought lost to him forever. He dropped his hand and called softly. "Sirius, it's Remus. We caught Pettigrew. We've come to take you home, Padfoot."

Cracked lips split apart only a fraction as a voice, creaking and cracking from disuse murmured softly, "It's not real… it's not real… it's not…"

Albus had stooped to the other side of the chair and added his soft voice to Remus, "It's real, child. We've come to take you back to Hogwarts. Perhaps some chocolate, Remus?" Remus fumbled into the backpack and handed a small chunk to Albus to feed to Sirius as he pulled out the pouch of healing potions that Severus had sent with them.

Moody and Gumboil had gone over to the two guards to sign the paperwork and then the two uniformed guards left to return to their shielded quarters; deep underground away from the effects of the Dementors.

Albus was breaking off slivers of dark chocolate and forcing them into Sirius' mouth letting them melt on the man's tongue before sliding in another piece between the slack and unresisting lips. Remus handed Albus a pepper-up potion mixed with a very strong energizing potion and then stood up and leaned his friend's filthy head back against his chest he held him still with his mouth open as Albus gently and slowly dripped small sips down his throat, thankfully he swallowed them without choking. Moody picked up the bag that Remus had left and searching through it; he handed several more potions to the two men as they continuously fed potions to the man they were talking to so softly and encouragingly.

Between the potions and the chocolate, Sirius' eyes began to lose their glazed over appearance and he started to take deeper breaths until finally what was happening to him and what they were repeating to him over and over began to register on his Dementor fogged brain. He turned his head slightly against the warm chest that was holding him close, and looked up in awe at Moony's gentle smile; traces of his tears unnoticed and unconcernedly still upon his face.

He blinked several times in wonder before licking dry lips and struggling to speak, "Moony, are you real?"

"Yes, Padfoot. And as soon as you are able to walk, we have a boat outside to take you back to Hogwarts with us." He hugged the man's head close and kissed the filthy forehead that was tilted up at him in disbelief. "If you can stand, we have clean robes for you too; you can leave those prison robes behind."

Sirius nodded slowly as if trying to process all the new information threatening to overwhelm him. Without a word he put both hands upon the sturdy table in front of him and with the help of a hand under each of his arms he stood, wavering slightly as he got his balance. Moody, as the senior Auror the only one who had been allowed to remain armed; drew his wand and with a flick the old robes had been removed. A simple S_courgify_ cleaned most of the filth off of the emaciated frame, and another flick covered him with clean undergarments. Gumboil came in front of where Remus and Dumbledore were holding Sirius up and gathering the folds of the heavy woolen robe, as if to dress a small child, he put the clean warm robes over Sirius' head and then Albus and Remus helped him find the armholes and he was dressed in clean robes for the first time in nearly four years. They sat him back down and Remus removed the thin slippers that were issued to prisoners and pulled thick woolen socks and then tied sturdy leather boots on his best friend's dry and cracked feet.

The two men sat him down in the chair again and Moody handed them another revitalizing potion followed by a small chunk of chocolate. "That should be enough to keep him going until we get him to Madame Pomfrey."

"Pomfrey?" was accompanied with a look of utter disgust even as he ate the chocolate that Gumboil was offering.

The four men laughed, a sound seldom heard within the walls of Azkaban, and agreed with Sirius about the overzealous hospital matron of Hogwarts.

After the chocolate and potions, with Albus on one side and Remus on the other, Sirius Black walked out of Azkaban on the last day of June, 1985, one thousand three hundred and thirty seven days after he arrived.

* * *

AN: I have _jury duty_ all next week and have to be there before 8 a.m. so it might be a week or more before I can update again. This is the third time in two years, but I usually don't pass the first questioning of the attorneys so wish me luck! Several of my reviewers have stated they are not native English speakers, so for them, I have been called up to be in the panel of ordinary people that make up the jury. The two attorneys can ask you questions to find out if you will be favorable to their case. I am not in trouble, nor am I charged with anything. They just makes lots more people show up than the 12 they actually need for the jury! 


	4. Chapter 4: Truths Revealed

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

AN: This story will not make much sense unless you read "Snape's Invisible Friend" before reading this. The story begins directly after the conclusion of SIF, summer 1985, just before Shaun/Harry turns **_five_**.

AN: I will answer questions if you will leave them in a review for me, and I thank all of you who have read and reviewed all of my stories. I appreciate each and every one of you (well maybe not the flamers). I have corrected a couple of minor errors that were pointed out to me in the last two chapters and I thank the reviewers who pointed them out to me. _And yes, the number of days that Sirius was in Azkaban was correct if he entered the first week of November, 1981 and was released the end of June, 1985. (My credentials say I can teach math through calculus but I'm really not comfortable teaching past Trig.)_

Chapter 4: The Truth Revealed

Shaun spent the afternoon playing with Fawkes and Nippy in his bedroom while his daddy brewed more nutrient potions for both Shaun and Sirius. Because his son still had to take one every day, Severus had reluctantly decided to flavor them with strawberry so the boy would swallow them. Hopefully, Shaun would catch up the lost height, weight and particularly bone strength soon. Poppy had originally had Shaun taking them four times a day; but over the past year she had gradually cut the dosage down so that now he just took one at breakfast. Before Severus had given in and flavored them; they had been a source of frustration as Severus wanted the child to swallow them and Shaun definitely did not want to. And they had fought that battle four times a day! But now, they were the perfect potion to brew when he wanted his hands busy but his mind free to roam.

Severus had thought before this day, that with the addition of Shaun to his life over the last year; he had finally let go of his anger and hatred of those blasted 'Marauders'. He truly could say he had become friends with Remus, well perhaps that was too strong a word, but at least a colleague and someone he trusted to care for his son. And he had spoken the truth about realizing that without James Potter he would never have the love of one small, messy haired boy. The gift of Shaun in his life made up for a lot of tasteless childhood pranks. But the realization that today he would come face to face with the worst of his school hood tormenters was making him grasp that he might not be _quite_ as over them as he had thought. He had forgiven Sirius Black in the _abstract_; but today he would no longer _be_ abstract; he would be a concrete part of his son's life and he wasn't at all sure that he wanted to share the boy with anyone else, let alone Black!

His long graceful fingers deftly continued to mindlessly prepare precisely diced ingredients as his mind pondered the futility of continuing a meaningless hatred. After all, there was no guarantee that Black would even _have a mind left_ after four long years in the constant company of Dementors. Perhaps he would wait and just evaluate the situation after seeing what was left of Black. Albus and Remus should be returning shortly with him; that is if all had gone as scheduled on their journey.

* * *

Albus and Remus stepped down into the wildly rocking rowboat and then they both reached back to take an emaciated arm of the man they had come to the most dismal place in all of Great Britain to rescue. The short walk out the door and across the windswept and seawater slimed stones had taken almost all the energy the potions they had fed him had given to him. Moody and Gumboil practically lifted him into the gyrating boat and the two wizards maneuvered him into sitting down between Remus and Albus so that they could keep him upright as much as possible, and at least try to protect him from the bone chilling splashes of seawater that the wind blew into the boat with increasing force.

The two aurors climbed into the boat and sat down on the bench directly behind the three, and Moody motioned to a house elf to untie the boat as he pulled his wand and incanted the spells necessary to return it to the dock that thrust like a skeletal finger from the miserable bare coast. It took less time to return to the mainland than it had taken to reach Azkaban, the occupants knew it was due to the incoming tide increasing their speed, but none of them could deny it was also that with each moment they traveled away from the desolation and the centuries' deep layers of despair that the wizarding prison exuded; the chilling, mind-numbing effects of the dementors diminished, and the very temperature of the air increased.

Sirius had given up and was just leaning bonelessly and lifeless against his best friend by the time Roger had welcomed the five back to the mainland. Roger pulled his wand and levitated the now unconscious man onto a conjured stretcher on the slippery, water washed dock before reaching a hand out to help first Moody and Remus out of the now wildly gyrating boat. Remus knelt beside Sirius, checking his friend's condition as Moody helped Albus out of the boat, leaving Gumboil to fend for himself.

Roger reached into his spray saturated and slightly dripping robe and pulled out three, long slender wands, holding them out to the Headmaster to take. "There's no reason for you to bring him up to the guardhouse, Headmaster. Mr. Black isn't in any condition to be signing forms for the ministry, and Auror Moody's signature is just as good as yours to acknowledge his formal release; so go ahead and take that portkey back to Hogwarts directly." Roger said as Albus accepted his familiar time worn wand and handed Remus' to him. Gumboil took the last one from Roger, as Mad Eye Moody handed a long thin magenta scarf to Albus.

"I'll be talking to you later, Albus, to find out how he's doing. I understand that Minister Bones will be contacting you tomorrow also. Just grab hold and I'll activate that portkey for you. It's set up to send you directly to the hospital wing." Moody nodded at the floridly colored scarf in his hand.

"Thank you, gentlemen, we will be going then." Albus knelt down onto the wet wood and grabbed one side of the stretcher, motioning for Remus to hang on to the other with the scarf laying across Sirius' chest the two men grabbed it tightly and the three disappeared, leaving the three men alone on the dock to walk back to the guardhouse.

* * *

Poppy was already waiting for them, a bed ready, covered with a charmed heated mattress pad. A large collection of variously bright hued and strangely shaped potions bottles covering the top of the nightstand at the ready. She had extra blankets already charmed warm and a covered tray of food spelled to keep warm waiting on another table set up just out of the way.

The three wizards had barely arrived, the two crouched protectively on the floor next to the third still figure on the stretcher, when she started barking orders, Albus may be the Headmaster of Hogwarts and considered by most in the wizarding world to be the most powerful wizard of the day; but in the infirmary there was no doubt as to just _who_ was **really** in charge! "Remus, get him up here and strip him down, Albus, there's hot chocolate with pepper-up potion in those mugs, I want you to drink one down and then give one to Remus. _And don't you fuss at me, Albus Dumbledore_; after an exposure to the Dementors like you had today, you both are staying here the night, and maybe longer if I say so!"

They had followed her orders without protest, well just a token one, and were standing out of her way as she cast diagnostic spells up and down the limp body on the bed in front of her, as sipping the potion laced hot chocolate. Without the shallow rise and fall of the skeletal chest it would have been impossible to tell that Sirius was not dead. She shook her head as she read the results, clucking her tongue in disapproval. She directed Remus to hold up his head and shoulders as she poured a variety of potions into the unconscious form, stopping every few minutes to recast her diagnostics. After a full thirty minutes, she sat down on the chair next to Sirius' bed, and wiping the stray wisps of hair that had escaped the confining bun that were now plastered to her forehead with sweat, she turned to the two patiently waiting men.

"That's the best I can do for today. He will recover, but it will be slow and frustrating for him. He's severely malnourished; of course you can tell that with one glance at him. He's going to need nutrient potions to rebuild bone and muscle mass, he had intestinal parasites, several cracked ribs, chronic pneumonia, and he's severely anemic. All of those a good diet, several weeks stay with me and some good old fashioned loving care will fix." Poppy hesitated before continuing, "But I can't tell you about his mental status until he wakes up. He could be fine eventually, he could have reverted to a small child, he could just be unable to handle the trauma and be catatonic, I can't tell until he wakes up fully."

"And when will that be, Poppy?" Remus was having a hard time keeping his fluctuating emotions under control as he gripped Sirius' hand tightly in his own icy ones.

She shook her head in regret, "I don't know, Remus. It could be in twenty minutes, it could be never. Or anything in between." Her voice was soft with compassion.

Albus stood behind the werewolf and grabbed him by both shoulders, "Remus, take heart, he was talking to us in Azkaban, he recognized who you were. And being here is the best place he could be to remember." Remus leaned his head back onto the old man's shoulder and turning his head slightly, looked directly into the sparkling blue eyes, "Do you really think so, Albus; will he be alright?" The hope in his eyes tore at the old man's heart as he was unable to completely reassure the tormented werewolf.

Poppy had fetched a bowl with a spoon and another mug of doctored hot chocolate which she gave to Remus. "See how much of this you can get down him. The chocolate is probably more important, but the broth has extra protein and nutrients added for him. He's very dehydrated and I'd like not to have to resort to injecting him with fluids if I can avoid it. He should be aware enough to swallow if you keep his head and shoulders elevated and take it really slow. I need to go and request some more specific potions from Severus to fully get rid of those parasites and take care of his anemia."

Remus picked up Sirius' head and shoulders while Albus arranged the pillows behind him. Remus took the spoon out of the broth and dribbled a small amount of the chocolate down between Sirius' cracked and dry lips. He swallowed about ten spoonfuls before he began to stir and show signs of awakening. Albus flicked his wand to turn the overhead lights down in the small private room while Moony called to Sirius. "Padfoot; it's Moony. You need to open your eyes and wake up. I have chocolate for you! Come on, you can wake up for me!" He had put down the mug and spoon and taken one icy hand and was rubbing it between his own, trying to warm Sirius up. Albus took his other hand and was repeating the motion from the other side of the bed.

Sirius' eyes flickered open and closed several times before remaining open. His eyes were flat and lifeless, unrecognizing of his surroundings. Remus leaned over him, tucking in the charmed blankets around his friend before he gripped his shoulders tightly and shook him gently. "Padfoot! Padfoot! It's Moony, you're in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, remember? Albus and I came and got you this morning. You aren't in Azkaban any more!"

"Not…a…dream…? Real?" Sirius whispered so softly that if Remus hadn't been practically sitting on him he wouldn't have heard him.

"No, friend, it's real. You are free. You will never go back there again!" Remus was so adamant that the sick man finally understood. Sirius turned his head slightly and his eyes showed more life than they had all day, "Moony?"

Moony had tears of joy making tracks through the dried salt of the sea spray on his face as he grinned at his old friend, "Yes, Sirius, it's Moony. Now you need to drink some more of this chocolate and broth so that you will get better."

Albus snuck out the door without either of them noticing that he had even gone. Moony talking gently to Sirius as he spooned the life-giving liquids into the best friend he had thought lost to him forever.

* * *

Sirius had done little more than eat and sleep for the first week he was in the infirmary, Remus had sat by his side so much that Poppy had finally brought another bed into the quarantine room so that the poor man would at least get _some_ sleep! The deeply etched lines and dark circles around his eyes that had so aged Sirius' once handsome face had begun to fade as the combination of fortified soups and Severus' specially formulated nutrition and strengthening potions began to fill out the skeletally thin frame of the former prisoner. He could now stay awake for longer periods of time each day, and could even sit up when propped up with pillows. His conversations were still mostly one sided but even that was encouraging as he seemed to understand and respond appropriately to questions and conversations.

Severus walked into the infirmary, Shaun holding tightly to his hand as he looked around in wide eyed glances that missed absolutely nothing. Severus leaned down and in a practiced motion, used one strong arm he swept the still small framed child up onto one hip, unconsciously hugging the softly shaking back to his own chest in encouragement, as Shaun held onto his Daddy's neck, his legs tightly gripping his daddy's waist. "Poppy, we're here to assist in bathing Mr. Black as you requested."

"Ah, thank you Severus." She accepted the tray of nutrient and strengthening potions he had grasped firmly in his free hand. "I'm sure that Mr. Black will be much more comfortable having you assist Remus with him than he would be with me doing it!" She smiled and laughed softly.

"Shaun has also expressed a desire to meet his godfather, so I thought we might introduce him, and then if you will watch him while I assist Remus?"

"Of course, of course, he's right in here. I have a bath all ready charmed to stay warm for him and all of the necessities and clean clothes are ready in the washroom for you." She led the two down a short hall next to her office and knocked sharply upon the door. Remus called "Come in." as she was already opening the door.

Sirius' turned from his friend Moony and gasped in shock at the sight of Severus Snape entering his hospital room and growled. "Come to gloat at the decrepit invalid, are we Snape?"

Remus patted Sirius' shoulder in warning, "Paddy, Severus has come at my request to help get you up and into a bath today. He's been making all of the special potions for you to recover. Things have changed greatly while you were gone and Severus Snape is my friend. Please respect that."

Severus came forward into the room fully, "Before you say anything else, Mr. Black, I would like to introduce you to _my son_, Shaun." The child had his head buried in his father's shoulder and turned his head just enough to peek at the stranger through his flowing shoulder length black hair.

Sirius just gaped, speechless for once before stuttering, "Your...son?"

"Yes, _my son_, Shaun! I know you do not like me and I cannot say that _I _like _you,_ but please remain _civil_ in front of my son, he is extremely shy and I would be very…**_upset_**…if you were to frighten him unduly." The threat in his words was civil and spoken in a normal tone each word carefully pronounced, but the threat was still there and understood.

Shaun looked back and forth between the two men before looking at his Uncle Moony and Madame Pomfrey for clarification of the adults' moods. He was getting resentment and annoyance off of his daddy; but the stranger, Sirius, was very difficult for him to read anything clearly, his emotions were all jumbled together, but both Moony and Madame Pomfrey were just slightly upset but not _angry_ and no one's emotions were enough to be threatening or even frightening to him.

He had always been able to read his relatives' emotions very clearly, and after a year in the magical castle, surrounded by hundreds of magical beings, his latent empathic abilities were manifesting ever clearer. He was able to be much more precise in reading _exactly_ what people were feeling and evaluating what those emotions meant to his own well being. Of course he didn't know everyone else couldn't read emotions the way that he could, so he never thought of mentioning them to anyone and his daddy and grandfather just thought he was exceptionally good at reading body language and non verbal cues.

Shaun squirmed and climbed down from his daddy's hip and walked carefully over to his Uncle Moony who was sitting in a comfortable chair beside the new man's bed. He reached up both arms and Moony picked him up, unconsciously giving him a hug and a gentle kiss on the top of his coal black hair. The boy leaned forward until he was only inches from Sirius' fathomless grey eyes, his own unusually bright green eyes sparkling brilliantly. He reached out one small hand and brushed the greasy strand of long and tangled black hair off Sirius' cheek. His tiny face crinkled up in thought as he searched his memories, "Padfoot? You took me flying with Daddy James, and Mummy yelled at you and called you a mangy mutt?"

Remus and Severus exchanged meaningful looks of consternation, they had agreed not to tell Sirius yet; that the boy was actually Harry James Potter until he was better recovered and more mentally stable, but it seemed as if Shaun himself had decided that Sirius should know _now_. Sirius reached up a thin boney finger and ran it down the child's soft cheek, "Harry? Little Prongs? How can it be?" He looked up at his friend, his eyes wide in confusion, "But how can that be, Moony?"

Remus leaned down to whisper into Shaun's ear, "Go find Madame Pomfrey, she's promised to listen to you read a story while your Daddy and I help Padfoot take a bath. He really needs one and he's too sick to take one by himself." Shaun slid off his Uncle's lap and ran out the door, turning to wave and calling out, "Bye Daddy, see you in a little bit." as he ran out to find Poppy. He loved to read aloud to almost anyone who would listen to him and she was always good for a secret chocolate frog or a sucker. Severus shut the door softly behind him and drew up another chair beside Remus so that the bedridden and still incredibly weak man could see both of them without having to turn his head too much.

Remus looked at Severus and raised an eyebrow. Severus sighed and ran his hands through his hair as he scowled, collecting his thoughts before speaking. "I guess I should explain the entire thing rather than just answering that question." Remus reached over and gripped Snape's shoulder in support, the gesture confusing the invalid even further.

"What's going on? Is that your son, _Snivellus_ or is that Harry? I want some answers!"

Severus laughed bitterly, surprising Black mightily, "I haven't heard that name in years! But I must say I much prefer Snape or Professor. Much more dignified don't you think? And the answer is yes. The child is my son and he used to be Harry Potter, but I didn't know that until he had been in my care for almost four months. I will explain if you will not interrupt me." The words lacked the remembered vitriol of the sarcastic man that Black had known before, leaving him even more confused as Remus took his hand and patted it without speaking.

"Calm down, Paddy and let the man explain. It is a strange story and if I hadn't witnessed most of it I wouldn't believe it either. But I trust Severus now with the boy and I even call him my friend. I hope that you can come to call him that too one day."

Severus ran his hand through his hair again and began, "I was all alone in the castle last summer, brewing a potion when I heard a crack and saw a flash of light in the corner of my eye. When I turned around I saw what I thought was a two year old child that was covered in bruises, and cuts most still with fragments of glass shards in them, with a broken right arm and a dislocated left knee. He was so filthy and smelled so bad; I was gagging at the sight and smell. I couldn't even tell if it was a boy or a girl at that point. I bent down to pick him up and he flinched and tried to scoot back so I had to talk soothingly to him for quite a while before I was allowed to even pick him up and begin to heal him. I did what I could and took him in to bathe him. His diaper hadn't been changed in so long that he was bleeding and cracked and had several deep ulcers. His hair was so matted that I almost had to shave his head. And he had multiple deep and bleeding cuts on his head and face, including deep ones on his forehead."

Severus closed his eyes at the remembered pain and anger he had felt at finding the child in that condition. He took several deep breaths to calm himself and continued. "Over the next few days, I talked constantly to the boy as I healed him and began to gain his trust. Finally one day he admitted to me that his name was 'Freak' and I admit I almost lost it! Bollocks, the child didn't even know his own name and had been so abused he would flinch and hide at the slightest loud noise. He followed me around like a shadow, never talking much and just starved for the slightest bit of kindness or affection. I was calling him child while I searched for anyone reporting a missing child. I found nothing and it was almost six weeks of just the two of us in the castle before the rest of the staff returned."

Remus was still holding Severus' shoulder but now he picked up his hand and patted his friend on the back in encouragement and support. "I took him with me to the first staff lunch and he disappeared. He had _vanished_ completely between opening the Great Hall doors and taking three steps inside. My house elf told me he had returned to our room, so Albus checked his Registry of Magical Children, and we sent Minerva and Hestia out to check on muggle born boys the correct age to see if any were missing, but they found nothing wrong. Albus returned with me to my room to ask the boy about his parents and we found that the boy was invisible and soundless to everyone but me."

Sirius looked open mouthed from Severus to Remus who nodded in confirmation. "What do you mean? Invisible, how?" He was having a hard time following the story without interrupting and had been making growls of distress and upset at the very disturbing descriptions of his godson's life and his abominable physical condition. Only the strong hand of Remus' gripping his own hand so tightly had kept him from trying to rush out and find whoever had done those despicable things to a child, his James' child!

"Shh, Sirius, you need to hear the whole story to understand. And yes, no one but Severus and the house elves could see the boy. And they still had no idea who the boy was so Albus just told Severus to name the boy, and consider him his own son until they could find some way to make the child visible. No one thought the Ministry would be capable of handling the situation without further traumatizing the poor child or making him some kind of exhibit at St. Mungo's."

Severus stood up and started to pace back and forth at the foot of the bed, his anguish and anger still apparent even after a year had passed. Remus reached behind Sirius and propped his pillows up higher so he could continue to see Severus as he continued his strange tale.

"Poppy did a physical during the first of August and told us the boy was three and a half or so, and severely abuse, malnourished and neglected. Then the beginning of October, Arabella Figg popped in and told us that Harry Potter and his muggle relatives were missing from their house for over five weeks, but she was positive she had seen Harry on September the second and Shaun had appeared in my lab the last week in June so no one thought it was the same boy. We came to find out that she had seen another boy and thought it was Harry, but the family had moved to Canada in the middle of September and never reported the boy missing to anyone! Arabella had been at her daughter's house for five weeks so no one had reported him missing to the magical community either."

"Well, we shortly figured out that Shaun and Harry are the same person, and because of the abuse and neglect, let alone _abandonment;_ the Dursley's guardianship was terminated. I had been taking care of the boy for over four months, I was the _only one_ who could see or hear him and I _wanted to adopt him_; so the Ministry granted the adoption. Shaun wanted to keep his name that I had given him, though it is officially Shaun Severus Harry Potter Snape in his adoption paperwork, so if he decides he wants to use the other name at some point he can."

Sirius was shaking his head, "Is this true, Remus? But it still doesn't explain _how_ he was invisible. I just saw him, he's not invisible now!"

Remus began his part of the story, softly speaking in somewhat halting sentences. "No, but he still disappears sometimes, especially when he's upset or frightened, and no; no one, not even Albus Dumbledore, knows how he does it so don't ask. I came to see Severus just before Halloween about a new potion for werewolves that he was developing, and I heard someone calling 'Moony' from the ceiling of the Great Hall during breakfast. Imagine my surprise to look up and find Shaun on his little toy broom zooming over head out of the Great Hall, twenty feet in the air, calling my name and no one is paying him the _slightest_ bit of attention. By the time I had fought my way out and around the corner, he had landed and was running to hug me. He had remembered me, just like he did you. I was holding him when Severus came running down the corridor, frantic and upset about his son and then acting very surprised that I could see and hear the boy. I, of course, didn't know what he was talking about; of course I could see the boy!"

Remus looked at Severus and smiled at the man that had become a friend, "Long story shorter, Albus offered to hire me as a tutor for Shaun while Severus teaches and works on potions. So I have been living in the castle and teaching the boy since last fall. Severus and I have managed to work out a more friendly relationship, of course the fact that no one can yell or get angry around Shaun without sending the child into a full blown panic attack and having he simply disappear and then no one can find him; helps to keep any conversation civil. Oh, and Shaun can apparently apperate within Hogwarts too, although no one knows how he does that either! So not only is he invisible, he can disappear and hide anywhere in the castle which makes it very difficult to find him if he's truly upset or mad."

Severus stopped pacing and looked at the perplexed man lying in the bed. He pursed his lips in thought before turning to Remus, "I think that is enough excitement for now; we will return this evening to help get him up and bathed. Good bye, gentlemen." With a swirl of black robes, the tall, lanky man turned and left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Remus stood up and moved to sit beside his friend on the edge of his bed, reaching out to enfold the much too thin frame into his embrace as he held his best friend, talking softly into the dirty hair until Sirius was asleep once again. They would talk a little more each time that Sirius was awake that day and Remus knew that eventually he would be able to convince Sirius Black that Severus Snape really was Harry Potter's father.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the short chapter, but this seemed the logical stopping place and I have to catch up with real life now. I did want to post something this week though so here it is! I never did get picked for a jury but it still eats up all your time, and the laundry and house just wait for you to return! 


	5. Chapter 5: Fights and Furies

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

AN: This story will not make much sense unless you read "Snape's Invisible Friend" before reading this. The story begins directly after the conclusion of SIF, summer 1985, just before Shaun/Harry turns **_five_**.

AN: I will answer questions if you will leave them in a review for me, and I thank all of you who have read and reviewed all of my stories. I appreciate each and every one of you (well maybe not the flamers).

AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated at for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html ( Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.

5: Fights and Furies

It was another two days before Severus managed to calm his temper down enough to go back to help Remus get Sirius up and bathed. It was better that they used cleaning spells even though they weren't as effective. But he finally felt able to help Remus without drowning the blasted mutt instead of helping him. But there was no way he was taking Shaun down there before the man was a little more emotionally stable. The night that he had found out that Severus had adopted Shaun, or Harry as he insisted in calling him, he had tried to get Remus to wait until Severus was asleep and go and kidnap Harry so they could run off and raise him themselves. And this from a man that couldn't even walk to the loo by himself! No; Shaun would _not_ be visiting that mutt, Black, again anytime soon, that's for sure.

This time he had enlisted Albus Dumbledore as a babysitter since Poppy had been called to the village of Hogsmeade for an emergency delivery. He hated to leave Shaun with his 'grandfather' because there was no telling what the 'barmy old coot' would let his son do or eat. Last time he had left Shaun with Albus the boy had been awake until almost midnight on a pure sugar high and had been whinny and tired for three days afterwards. And what adult in their right mind let a four year old play catch the snitch in their office full of breakable objects? Oh, Albus, adult, and right mind didn't go together at all. But it was that or Hagrid, someone who might think nothing of taking Shaun into the forest to investigate some 'innerestin' creature. With Professor Kettleburn on a prolonged vacation to South America finding a supposedly new species of winged frog, Hagrid was in charge of caring for the castle's multitude of different and distinctly unusual species that lived on the extensive grounds and in the Forbidden Forest.

Of course, he _could _leave the poor boy with Sybil Trelawney, but since Shaun refused to become visible whenever the disgusting fraud was around he didn't think that would work out too well for either of them. He still suspected that Shaun had been responsible for the Divination teacher going bonkers at breakfast last Halloween. She had managed to wind up sliding down the Gryffindor table on her stomach, platters and dishes of food and drinks flying like missiles all over the Gryffindors. When the other houses started laughing it had set off the biggest food fight that the castle had ever seen. And Trelawney hadn't stepped foot in the Great Hall for a meal since; so it had turned out all right in the end. He still cherished the memory of Minerva with a bowl of porridge on her head and Albus drenched in pumpkin juice with fried eggs dripped down his beard.

So he was stuck with Albus as a babysitter. And because Albus was expecting several very important fire calls, he had taken Shaun up to his office and left him, hoping Albus' office was still standing when he returned to pick up the boy much later. Hopefully the old man had learned from the last time and would stick to the activities that Severus had provided in the bag he had packed for them. He had also promised dire consequences if Albus tried to supplement the snacks he had ordered Nippy to bring to them while he was busy for the next hour or so.

As Severus made his way down to the infirmary, already upset about the way the day was turning out, he stopped by their quarters to change to an older robe and changed out of his favorite boots. No use wearing anything that he would get upset over if it got wet or ruined. He was still thinking up punishments to inflict upon Black if he didn't cease and desist in his foolish belief that he could raise Shaun better than Severus. And each scenario became more creative and bizarre as he finally reached the ward. He took a deep, cleansing breath and occluded his emotions for the task ahead as he opened the door to the quarantine room inside the infirmary and entered.

* * *

Shaun was sitting peacefully on his 'Grandpa Albus'' lap, reading his favorite Potions for Children book to the old man. Fawkes was sleeping peacefully, his scarlet feathers fluffed and lifted to air out from his earlier flight in the light summer rain. Shaun loved to read aloud as much as Albus loved to have him sit on his lap, his quiet childish voice making very few mistakes as he read books that were intended for children at least eight or nine years old. 

"Then add two drams of pomegranate juice; stir six times counterclockwise and have your adult helper turn up the fire to simmer." Shaun was reading when he sat straight up and dropped the book from his lap. He looked upset as he simply vanished from the old wizard's lap in a soft puff of displaced air. Albus stood up and called for the child several times before yelling "Nippy!"

"Yes, Headmaster, what can Nippy be doing for you today, sir?" The Snape's personal house elf was bowing with his large ears almost touching the floor. Albus waved for him to stand up and asked, "Can you sense Shaun in the castle? He disappeared but I don't _think_ he became invisible. At least I hope that he didn't." The bond between Master and house elf allowed Nippy to sense where all of his master's family was at all times, but the bond was apparently disrupted when Shaun became invisible and it distressed all of the elves when that happened.

"Yes, Headmaster, sir. Shaun he is being in the hospital wing now, and he is not being invisible, sir. Is there anything else Nippy can be helping Headmaster, sir with?" Nippy didn't appear to be too upset so perhaps Shaun had just popped down to be near his father. When Shaun had first appeared to Severus he had been unwilling to be separated from him at all, but after a year he would now part from his father for longer and longer periods of time. But anytime that Shaun felt insecure or frightened, he would disappear and reappear wherever his father was. It was really quite disconcerting, Albus thought to himself as he trudged down the staircases to the infirmary, running his mind over the last few minutes and deciding he was absolutely clueless about what had triggered the boy's disappearance. He sure hopped that Shaun outgrew the extreme reaction to emotional upsets soon. It continued to cause problems whenever he disappeared like today. Though Albus admitted it could certainly come in handy if the boy ever got into real trouble that he couldn't handle or if the remaining death eaters found him or Merlin forbid, Voldemort managed to acquire a corporeal body somehow!

The noise of the two men bellowing at each other was audible before Albus even opened the large double doors that guarded the entrance to the hospital. He stopped, upset and stunned at the sight that greeted him, his eyes losing their trademark twinkle as his face paled and then began to glow with suppressed power as he ascertained the situation in front of him. On the floor outside the closed door to the quarantine room that currently housed Sirius Black; Shaun was curled into a small ball on the floor. His thin arms were covering his face in protection while both hands were clasped tightly over his ears. Fawkes had apparently arrived before the headmaster and he was perched on the shaking child, his wings spread out over his back in a protective blanket of brilliantly hued scarlet feathers as he trilled a song; trying unsuccessfully to comfort and calm the violently trembling boy.

"_**He's my SON…"**_

"_**He's my GODSON…"**_

"**_I will decide who he sees and when he…"_**

"**_James and Lily named ME not YOU…"_**

Severus and Sirius were both bellowing so loudly and ferociously that neither was even listening to what the other was saying. Albus could hear the third voice of Remus, seemingly pleading so softly that only intermittent snatches of his voice could be heard when the irate screamers stopped just long enough to breathe before continuing their bellicose ranting.

Albus seemed to grow taller as he strode rapidly toward the closed door of the quarantine room, his eyes glowing brilliant clear blue, his whole body radiating visible power in his outrage at the behavior of the two men, supposedly _adults_! And when he radiated power like this it was easy to see why people claimed the only one that Voldemort had ever been afraid of was Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard of the century!

"**ENOUGH!"** Albus yelled as he threw open the door so abruptly the doorknob cracked loudly against the wall and left a round spider webbed circle of destruction behind. **"LOOK AT WHAT YOU ARE DOING!"** He pointed one knobby finger out the now open door and down at the pitiful heap that was the terrified child, remarkably still visible. Fawkes flew up to the end of the nearest bed and continued to trill loudly, hoping in vain to calm down the two angry men in the little room.

Remus was standing; arms outstretched holding an angry man at bay with each hand. The three stopped instantly and looked at where Albus was pointing. Severus ran, dropping to the floor as he reached his son. He snatched Shaun up, distraught as he tried to uncurl the tightly balled boy. "I'm sorry, Shaun, so sorry. I didn't know you were here, I thought you were up in Grandpa's office. Shh, child it's all right. Daddy's not mad at you, Daddy loves you very much, child." Severus was still down sitting back on his heels, rocking back and forth as he attempted to calm his very frightened son, alternately clutching him tightly and rubbing his back while bestowing soft kisses on the child's bent head. Shaun was sobbing and visibly shaking as he tried to overcome and disperse the waves of raw emotion that he had felt clear up in the Headmaster's tower.

Sirius had dropped down onto the bed behind him, so drained and emotionally spent that he was shaking in reaction to the adrenaline that still coursed through his veins from the intense argument he had been having with Snape just moments ago. Remus and Albus were watching the two Snapes in silence, both of them glaring disgusted looks between the two men while they hoped that Shaun would recover soon. But their hopes were dashed as, with a shimmer of flickering light, Shaun disappeared from view, still curled up tightly in a quivering ball. An anguished heart breaking cry broke from the throat of the man still on the floor as he was suddenly holding nothing. Shaun had disappeared once more.

* * *

Shaun reappeared in a place that had come to mean comfort to him over the last year, his daddy's potions lab. The familiar smells and sights with the softly bubbling cauldrons of various potions typified his father and the safety and comfort he normally felt from the man. Here his daddy talked softly to him as he watched him create miraculous potions. He had first appeared here, his daddy had healed him here, and it was here that he felt closest to the man who had rescued him from his abusive and neglectful relatives and given him a new home. Unfortunately, he was still curled into a ball and misjudged where he should land so he wound up on top of a tall wooden work table instead of on the floor like he had meant to. With a thud, a tinkle of glass, and then the horrifying sound of something hitting the floor and smashing, Shaun landed, still invisible, curled in a fetal ball and trembling from the onslaught of emotions, not all of them his own. 

His mind whirled with tempestuous thoughts and emotions, finally able to begin to sort out his own from the emotionally charged ones belonging to the four highly agitated men. Daddy was furious and terribly frightened with something to do with him, Uncle Moony had been very angry at both men and highly frustrated, and Mr. Black's emotions swung between despair, anger, pain and guilt so wildly that it was difficult to tell exactly what he was feeling from one moment to the next. Then Grandpa had been absolutely livid at Daddy and Mr. Black, but only distressed and worried about how he would react. The emotions in the hospital wing had overpowered even the calming effect that Fawkes had always had on him.

As he began to push the emotions that didn't belong to him out of his head, he became more and more worried about what he had inadvertently done to his daddy's potion lab. Daddy still got furious and yelled loudly at any student who broke things in the classroom and he knew his daddy was much more protective of his private lab than he ever was about the classroom. Shaun didn't want his daddy to yell at him and threaten to send him away from the castle because he had broken and messed up his daddy's potions ingredients.

He uncurled in the silence as his disorganized thoughts calmed down more with each minute, thankful that the terrifying emotions he had sensed pouring out of the hospital wing had stopped and his stomach was finally unclenching from the overflow of negative emotions that had overwhelmed him. He opened his eyes and began hyperventilating as he talked softly to himself, 'Oh no, I broke some of Daddy's ingredients, he never allows me in here by myself and he was so mad at Mr. Black. Now he's going to be that mad at me, what can I do, what can I do?'

He scooted over to the edge of the table and hung by his fingers, he was just tall enough for his tip toes to reach the floor and he carefully climbed down. He started to pick up the things he had knocked off the table in his landing. 'Dragon's blood, pickled frog spleen, snail snot, werewolf spit, they all seem to be okay' He picked up and cleaned each container as he read the label to himself. '_Yecch,_ I hope these aren't in my nutrient potion, no wonder it tastes so bad!' Everything had been returned except for one large silver lid and a lot of glass splinters covered in dark grey ashes. 'Salamander ash, oh no, I remember daddy complaining to Moony about the cost of that going up. He's going to be _so_ _mad_.' He hadn't thought that his Daddy would hit him, but he had never seen him so mad like today. His Daddy's face didn't turn purple like his Uncle's used to, but it was bright red and he had felt the waves of hatred and anger flowing in the hospital clear through the closed doors and clear up in Grandpa's office. 'If Daddy finds this and he's already mad at Mr. Black; he might hit me or worse, make me leave and go back to the Dursley's!' His thoughts were getting more chaotic and panicky as he continued to work himself up into a full blown panic attack.

'I know where Daddy keeps jars like this, I could just put the label on a new jar and he'd never know it, but what could I fill it with? I wonder, fireplace ash; that would work! No, the elves cleaned that last night and I can't make a fire." He was climbing up into a storage cabinet, reaching down a large empty jar and removing the old label as his mind whirled. He carefully took the label and pressed it down carefully so that it was even and straight. 'Ashes, ashes, where can I get ashes?' With a soft cry he remembered putting all of Fawkes' ashes in his robe pocket when he had made a nest for the bird on the floor of his wardrobe. He hoped the ashes were still there, after all Nippy had been told by his Daddy that he wasn't to clean the boy's room, that was Shaun's responsibility and he didn't remember cleaning the ashes out of that pocket when he had hung his green robe up after Grandpa had reclaimed Fawkes the next day.

'Here's the right robe, yes! It's still full of ashes!' He carefully scooped out the ashes from his robe pocket and filled the round glass container with the ashes. Sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth in concentration, his forehead furrowed in concentration, he managed to get the lid on straight and turned it as tight as his small fingers could make it. He had just placed the jar on the table with the other ingredients and used the small broom and dust pan to clean up all the mess on the floor, before he heard his father come crashing through the doors to their quarters, running footsteps coming closer every second. Shaun knew he wasn't supposed to be in his Daddy's lab, he could still feel anger radiating off of his father so he did the only thing he thought he could do; he left again!

* * *

Severus was so angry at himself for losing his temper at that imbecile mutt that he was having a terrible time calming himself down, but he knew he couldn't approach Shaun in his emotionally charged state. He knew that, but he was so worried that he ran to their quarters anyway, hoping the boy had not made himself invisible to _him_ as well as everyone else. Shaun had never disappeared from Severus' sight, but he was afraid this might be the first time! Why had that moron not understood what they had told him yesterday! He hit the doors to their quarters much harder than he wanted to; making the solid oak doors slam as he ran into Shaun's bedroom, hoping the boy was there. Nothing, he searched their entire apartment and found nothing. "Nippy!" He finally yelled when he had run out of places to search. 

"Yes, Master Snape?" Nippy looked a little put out with his master, in fact, he looked at the man with disapproval clearly on his odd little face. And Severus had never heard his family's old retainer speak so coldly to any of his masters before.

"Do you know where Shaun is, Nippy?" Severus was pacing, running a worried hand over and over through his long stringy hair, not caring that it was now sticking up in every direction.

"No, Master. Shaun is invisible, but Nippy was feeling how upset young Master was in the hospital. Young Master is feeling that Master will be _hitting_ him like old Uncle did. Young Master is not wanting to be found, he is _fearing_ you, Master Snape!"

Severus sank into a soft armchair and dropped his head into both hands, a shudder shaking his shoulders as he finally calmed his anger and replaced it with shame and regret, along with his worry. "I'm sorry Nippy. I know I frightened Shaun, but you must believe me, I would _never_ hit Shaun, and in fact I thought he was clear up in Albus' office and couldn't hear us at all!"

Nippy shook his head in bewilderment; he would never understand these wizards even if he lived to be four hundred years old! "I is knowing that, Master Snape, but Young Master is not. And I cannot feel him anywhere in the castle or the grounds. Nippy will have the other elves look for Young Master; we are hoping he wants to be seen soon!" With another wild shake of his head, he bowed once more and popped out of sight.

* * *

The afternoon passed in a frantic search for the four year old, but no one had any luck finding him. Remus had been irate at Sirius for blowing up at Severus and starting a huge argument that he had absolutely no hope of winning. All of Sirius' energy had been sucked out of him in his emotional outburst and he had collapsed into an exhausted sleep. After Sirius' was deeply asleep, Remus had felt free to called a house elf to watch him as he joined the others in their search of the castle; opening every door and calling for the small frightened and bewildered boy.

* * *

Hagrid burst into the entrance hall and called out to Severus who was re-searching the Great Hall once more, looking under the house tables, into corners and up over the rafters. "Eh, Perfes'r. I found me a big spot o' blood under the Whompin' Willah. The Thestrals was lickin' its how I noticed. Do yuh know what made it?" Severus called over his shoulder to the nearest portrait, "Tell the Headmaster and the others to meet me at the Whomping Willow! Follow me, Hagrid!" He ran down the stone steps, his black robes bellowing out behind him as he ran, calling "Shaun, Shaun, are you here, son?" 

His feet nearly flew as he crossed the wide yard and stopped just short of the reach of the deadly branches. He warily eyed the single Thestral who was greedily licking at a large spot of red that had spread over the pounded, barren soil under the deadly tree. The tree was leaving the beast alone, but rattled its branches threateningly as Severus tried to step closer to investigate. He had to stay a goodly distance back from the potentially deadly branches as he called hopefully, "Shaun, child are you there? I need you to let me see you, child, please let Daddy see you." His voice cracked with emotion as he continued to call, ignoring the pounding of feet coming up behind him. Albus and Remus added their pleas to Severus' and watched above the bloody puddle in hope and fear. It was a rather large puddle and now that the shy Thestral had left, they could see there were still large drips coming from directly above it, drip…drip…drip…

* * *

Poppy was tired and sweaty but happy that Mrs. Golden had been successfully delivered of her new baby boy and that everything was all right. The child had decided to come feet first so the Hogsmeade midwife had made a frantic call to Madame Pomfrey to do the delivery. She thought about stopping at the Three Broomsticks for some of Rosemerta's delicious fish and chips and a cold butter beer, but with Sirius still in the infirmary she really should be getting back to Hogwarts. He still needed multiple potions each day and close monitoring after that horrendous stay in Azkaban. Just the thought of that place made her shiver. 

She left the last houses behind her and turned toward the large iron gates that had meant home to her since she first entered at the age of eleven years old, oh so many years ago. She knew she could have been a very successful Mediwitch at St. Mungo's and perhaps even Head Healer on a specialty ward by this point, but after seeing her little brother suffering so after being hit by a stray bludger in a Quidditch game and then almost die before they could get him to St. Mungo's she had vowed to provide all of Hogwarts' children with the finest care available. And she had kept her vow for all of these years!

The glorious sight of the castle, blue skies just starting to darken toward sunset was a sight she never grew tired of, even if she was tired herself. She was looking forward to a quiet evening with a nice cup of tea and that new wizarding romance novel that Minerva had passed on to her. She stopped and listened. 'Had she heard voices shouting?' She turned her head towards the sound; it was coming from the direction of the Whomping Willow!

Drawing on a reserve of energy she hadn't know she had, she shouldered her medi-bag more comfortably on her shoulder and took off running towards the distant shouts.

* * *

Poppy skidded to a halt, breathless and stunned at the sight before her. Severus had anguish and guilt showing unabashedly on his face; Albus and Remus were also calling clearly distressed and desperate, and neither seemed to be in much better shape emotionally than the openly distraught father. There was a growing puddle of blood spreading on the ground below the Whomping Willow and the tree was swirling and thrashing so hard that no one could approach it! Remus had a long stick and was attempting to push in the knot that would freeze the tree, but the limbs were moving so hard and fast that he couldn't reach it. The flailing branches swatted every attempt the werewolf made to reach the magical spot. Hagrid was off to the side, holding back a very large Thestral and blubbering into his beard. 

She touched Albus on the shoulder, "What's going on here, Albus? Whose blood is that on the ground?" Because she could see no one and the obviously emotional wreck that was the normally stoic Severus Snape; she was almost afraid to hear the answer.

"We cannot be positive, but we suspect it is young Shaun. Severus and Sirius had a very loud argument and Shaun went invisible. We have searched for several hours until Hagrid noticed the blood there."

Poppy harrumphed, reached down and picked up a large rock, and using all the skills gained in her own years as a Quidditch chaser, threw it at the knot with all the strength and accuracy she could muster. With a dead hit, the tree froze and Severus ran forward, climbing quickly up to the branch they believed held his son, his long black robes billowing out behind him as his long legs deftly moved from branch to branch, ever higher up the tree until he was directly over the puddle on the ground. "He's here and he's breathing, but he feels cold and limp. His breathing is as labored as it was when he was poisoned and then later with the pneumonia. I can't see him either." He admitted; frustration plain in his voice as he reported to the medi-witch and the Headmaster below him.

Hagrid let go of the Thestral with a slap to the rump to send him back into the forest and ran forward to reach up for Severus' precious cargo. He was tall enough to just reach with his arms stretched out over his head, pulling the invisible child near to his chest in protection as he ran him over to Poppy.

Severus shimmied down the tree like an accomplished tree climber and ran to kneel with the others around Poppy. He was afraid to ask her how he was, but he had to. "Poppy, how is he?" She was waving her wand up and down a patch of dirt, muttering under her breath. Without stopping she started issuing orders to Severus, "In my bag, I need two blood replenishers, a pain reliever, a fever reducer, and a pepper up potion. It looks like he was struck by a large branch that hit him in his lower ribs and abdomen. Luckily, his ribs stopped most of the internal damage, but we'll have to heal them later. Too bad he's too young for skele-gro. But he's going into shock from blood loss from the bruising and his liver is bleeding from the blows he received."

"Two blood replenishers, Poppy, isn't he too young for that much?" Severus was handing her potions and then taking the empty vials back as she fed them to his son. Now he knew what the others had gone through when they couldn't see Shaun, it was disconcerting to see a potion just disappear in mid air!

"We'll have to closely monitor him, but he's lost so much blood that he was going into shock so we'll have to risk it. Here, Severus he will feel most comfortable with you carrying him up to the hospital. But be careful, he has three broken ribs on the left side, the right side is just bruised, thank Merlin!" Remus took off his faded and patched brown robe and wrapped the invisible figure in it before Poppy handed the bundle to his distraught father and the distress and grief filled group made their way slowly back to the castle, Albus supporting Severus' elbow on one side and Remus on the other as they walked, keeping the swiftly walking man from stumbling with his precious burden, as they crossed the grounds, entered the castle and began the seemingly interminable climb to the fourth floor.

* * *

AN: Life is almost back to normal so I should be able to update in a couple of days, thanks for the encouragement, you keep me cranking out new chapters with your reviews. Remember to check out Guardians of Power and vote for your favorite! 


	6. Chapter 6: The Power of Emotions

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: I will answer questions if you will leave them in a review for me, and I thank all of you who have read and reviewed all of my stories. I appreciate each and every one of you (well maybe not the flamers).

AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html (Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.

Chapter 6: The Power of Emotions

Poppy pushed open the infirmary doors with a loud bang as she ran towards her locked potions cabinet, yelling back over her shoulder for Albus to retrieve the parchment listing spells safe for young children from the top left hand drawer of her desk. 'I really should just memorize that list, as often as poor Shaun winds up here!' She was placing vials of potions on the tray she had hastily conjured out of the handkerchief from her pocket as she thought quickly.

Severus had been helped over to a hospital bed and had lain down with his son still clutched in his arms. He rolled over, gently lying the boy onto the bed beside him, curling his own body protectively around him. His arm under the boy's head and shoulders was not only helping the boy breathe better, the rest of his arm curling down the boy's body, was roughly outlining exactly where the boy was since no one could see him. Severus used his free hand to brush his tangled, long, black hair out of his face as he called loudly, "Nippy!"

"Yes, Master Snape?" The tiny, elderly house elf was still cold and punctiliously proper in his manner toward his master, which let Severus know exactly how upset and outraged the old retainer was with his 'master'.

"Can you still see my son? I _cannot_ and I am afraid we are greatly hampered in treating him without being able to adequately evaluate his condition." The anguish clearly visible in the countenance of the normally snarky potions master contradicted his calm and silky voice. Severus was very upset with Sirius, but he was even more disgusted with himself for getting so out of control with the flea bitten mongrel. Just because the man and his obnoxious friends had made _his_ school days hell and had tormented him at every opportunity; that was no reason to let himself lose complete control of his own emotions!

Nippy nodded politely at his master, "Yes, sir. Nippy can still see young Master. His face is pale and sweaty, sir. If you would remove young Masters clothes, Nippy will tell you about his body, sir."

Severus hurried to comply, fumbling with the unseen fasteners and slipping the still too thin arms out of the sleeves, as Poppy hurried back and Albus came rushing out of Poppy's office, a piece of well used parchment waving in his hand like a flag in triumph. "Found it!" He said as he scurried back to the frantically moving mediwitch.

"Nippy, I am sorry for distressing Shaun and I truly regret making him fearful again in my uncontrolled rage, but I ask you to help me now, please?" Severus was actually apologizing to Nippy as he tried to get the elf to look at his son now that he had the boy stripped down to his underpants and socks.

Nippy looked at Severus with a little more forgiveness in his countenance as he looked up and down the small body lying so limp and lifeless on the large white bed, still cradled on his father's arm, which circled protectively around him.

"Yes, sir, Nippy sees a very large bruise from Young Master's chest, just below his shoulders, clear down below the top of his pants. It is making Young Master's stomach bulge out like he has swallowed a ball. He is having several ribs caved in on the left side of his chest, just above the bottom rib. Young Master is having a most difficult time breathing, he is gasping and his breaths is gurgling like he is underwater, sir!"

Poppy's face paled at the little elf's description as she reached her hand out and fumbled awkwardly until she found the area described. She uttered several strong cuss words that the men would have bet she had never heard before and that were anatomically impossible, as she felt that it was true, the boy's stomach was distended and rock hard with the blood pooled inside his skin from internal bleeding. Using one hand to keep the area clearly identified, she flicked her wand in a complicated motion as she chanted an even more complicated spell over the small frame. Severus gasped and his face blanched white as he recognized her incantation, "Surely that's not recommended for someone as small as Shaun?" he questioned incredulously at the very strong fluid reducer and healing spell she had just cast.

She turned to Severus after she finished, "I had no choice, Severus, his abdomen was so distended that it was greatly interfering with his breathing and if I hadn't relieved the pressure internally, his other organs would have shut down and he would have died within minutes. How is his breathing now?" She knew that Severus would be able to tell because of the position he was holding his son in.

"It's still labored and I can feel he is very congested still, but it has eased up some. Perhaps the lung clearing spells now?" She nodded her agreement and both she and Severus aimed their wands and began casting healing spells onto the small body.

Remus and Albus stood by, feeling totally helpless as neither healer was telling them anything, they couldn't see or hear anything, and neither man wanted to disturb the two in their non stop healing. After an eternity where time seemed to stand still, Poppy collapsed back against the bed behind her and Severus dropped his head down exhausted onto the bed as if his head weighed too much for him to lift it any longer. They thought for a moment that Severus had passed out after the intense expenditure of magic; but a soft snore let the two know that he had simply fallen asleep from emotional and physical exhaustion. Poppy looked at the two men still standing, waiting in anxious anticipation, as she swung her feet up on the bed she had been sitting on. She lay down without even taking off her shoes. As her eyes closed in utter exhaustion, she managed to whisper, "He'll be alright now, he just needs…to…sleep…" and her soft even breathing let them know that she too was asleep.

Nippy came forward from where he had been standing out of the way and beckoned the two wizards away from the sleeping trio. As he led them out of the hospital wing, a burst of flame and a soft, peaceful trill announced the arrival of Fawkes, who settled down on Severus' shoulder, his neck stretched out so that his own head was on Shaun's chest. He continued to softly trill comfort and healing to the small boy that he loved.

* * *

Nippy led the two men to an empty classroom just beyond the hospital wing doors and waited for the two tired wizards to sit down before turning to them and looking down towards the floor in sorrow and defeat.

"I is telling you's something that we's house elves is knowing for some time. Young Master must be trained. He's magic is too strong for us to bind any more." Nippy looked ashamed at having kept something so important from the Headmaster and the boy's teacher and refused to make eye contact with the two very confused wizards.

They were still looking at him in astonishment at his confession when they heard another soft crack of displaced air and Ogden, the Hogwarts Head House Elf appeared before them. He bowed toward the Headmaster; his ears wiggling as his forehead almost touched the floor. Somehow he managed to make the stance retain a sense of stately elegance and dignity. His only outwardly visible sign of nervousness was the hand gripped in his immaculately clean tea towel with the embroidered Hogwarts School Shield on the front.

"Headmaster, we have information that we have been shielding from you for some time to keep the boy safe. We have been using our own elf powers to help the child cope, and give him time to recover from his past, before having to harness this gift, but the last week has awakened his magics to such a level that we are no longer able to shield him. He was injured because we were not strong enough to shield him as the emotional overload made him panic into flight." Ogden looked apologetic and contrite towards his boss.

Dumbledore looked stunned and Remus was absolutely speechless; his mouth opening and closing without him uttering a word. House elves were extremely powerful magical creatures and they, all hundred or so which were bonded to Hogwarts plus the phoenix Fawkes had been unable to continue to shield Shaun? How powerful was the boy; and what had they been shielding him from? Albus recovered first and asked Ogden, "Please explain, Ogden? What were you shielding him from and why?"

Ogden raised his ancient wrinkled face and smiled softly at Albus, "The boy is a remarkably powerful wizard, he will become the _strongest wizard_ I have ever encountered eventually, and his powers are growing each day. But mostly we have been shielding him from the emotions in the castle. He is empathic, and one so strong that he does not require touch. The emotions of the past week opened his magic up fully and if he does not receive training in blocking his mind before the students return next term, the emotions will overwhelm him and drive him insane. Fawkes, the other elves and I have been blocking him since last year, but we can no longer shield him, he is too strong for us." Ogden dropped his gaze, clearly ashamed to have to admit this to the revered wizard sitting in front of him.

* * *

Albus and Remus were drinking a glass of well deserved fire whiskey in the Headmaster's office several hours later, when they received a fire call from the hospital wing. A tired Madame Pomfrey was visible in a ring of green flames as she called to the men. "Albus, I thought you would like to know that Severus says that Shaun is starting to move. He thinks he will soon awaken and he would like you to be there in case Shaun is still frightened of him."

"Of course, Poppy, if you will step back we will step through right now." Albus was already putting down his still half full glass as he spoke. Remus followed right behind the old man and stopped just long enough to whisk away the ashes from his robes as he hurried to the only occupied bed in the open wing.

The two stood silently as they observed Severus speaking softly to his son, cajoling him to "Wake up for Daddy, Shaun. Please, Daddy's not mad at you, son. Please open your eyes. I love you, Shaun, and I would never hurt you, son, please wake up!" Severus was running his long, elegant fingers through the boy's hair as he continued, "Shaun, you're still invisible child, we need you to let us see you so we can finish making you all better. Please Shaun, let Daddy and Grandpa Albus see you!" His voice cracked with emotion as he pleaded with the small boy to understand and accept his love.

All four of the adults let out a simultaneous sigh as Shaun shimmered into view, opening his eyes and then wincing as he started to stretch. "Daddy, it hurts…" he whined so softly that if they hadn't been listening closely they would all have missed it. Poppy muttered a numbing spell over the boy, now that she could once again see her patient; she was much more comfortable using spells on him.

Severus shuddered as he held a hand close to the deep purpling bruise that marred the pale skin of his son, stretching from just below his shoulders to disappear below the waistband of his underpants, the deep lacerations still slightly visible where the child's ribs had been crushed from the force of the tree branch's impact. He hesitated to touch it, though he longed to just make it go away. Guilt welled up in him as he thought again of just _why_ the boy had disappeared and been injured, running away and trying to hide from fear of him. Shaun started to tense up in his father's arms and Severus was afraid the boy was withdrawing from him because he was terrified of him.

Albus had explained to Poppy what Ogden had confided in them that afternoon so she knew that Shaun was withdrawing from Severus because of the intensity of his emotions rather than any fear; _any_ strong emotions would overwhelm the small boy, even those of love and joy, and she had known Severus for many years and knew he was most likely feeling intense guilt at causing the boy to fear him so much that he had run in panic and been injured so severely.

Severus looked up startled as Poppy forced a calming potion into his hand and indicated that he should drink it, not feed it to Shaun as he had thought. He looked at Albus for confirmation and shrugging, drank it down when his mentor nodded at him. He instantly felt his emotions fade until he was completely under control for the first time since that miserable imbecile had started to accost him that afternoon. Poppy dribbled a small dose of Dreamless Sleep into Shaun's mouth and then helped Severus extract himself from the deeply sleeping child. She motioned at him to follow Albus and Remus out of the room without saying another word to them.

Remus patted Severus' shoulder in support as they reached Poppy's office and he broke off to head down the short hall to the quarantine rooms to return to his vigil at Sirius' bed side. He thought perhaps he would be slapping Sirius upside the head several times before the night was over.

* * *

Albus picked up his abandoned glass of fire whiskey after pouring one for Severus and banishing Remus' old one. He waved to the younger man to take a seat as he dropped heavily into his own comfortable leather desk chair. He sat his drink down on his desk and leaned his chin into his steepled fingers, deep in thought and contemplation about how they were going to managed this new complication. 'Shaun just refuses to be a normal child in anything!' He thought in exasperation.

The two men sat in contemplative silence for several minutes, letting the fine whiskey warm them and relax them after the extremely hectic and emotional day that they had endured. Albus took a deep breath and then heaved a deep and long sigh, "Severus, Ogden admitted something to us today that changes everything about Shaun once again." He waved a hand at the startled man, motioning for him to save his questions until he had finished his explanation, "No, let me tell you all of it before you begin to ask questions."

He took another couple of deep breaths as he organized his thoughts once more, "He told us that Fawkes and all the house elves have been shielding Shaun for the last year. He is an empath; one so strong that he doesn't need touch to experience the emotions of everyone around him. But Ogden admitted that after this week, Shaun is too strong, they can no longer shield him from raw emotions. It explains how he felt your argument while still sitting with me in my office this morning. And they are afraid if he is not taught how to shield his mind before the students return that the overload of emotions will drive him insane."

"You need to know that he also told us that Shaun is the most powerful wizard he has ever come across. I feel that you should know that Ogden is over four hundred years old, so he is including both me and Voldemort in that assessment. And everyone else for the last four centuries!"

He sat in silence, watching as Severus tried to process the information he had just been given, his emotions hidden from anyone who didn't know the sarcastic man as well as he did. He could see the flash of turbulent emotions showing in his deep dark eyes before being suppressed behind the man's tight mask. Severus' thoughts roiled as he sat in silence, occasionally sipping his drink to have something to do with his hands as he tried to process everything and come up with some kind of a workable plan. 'Merlin, how do you teach a four year old to shield his mind? I doubt there is a book of _Occlumency for Toddlers_ out there. Albus taught me, and I have taught several others, but can I teach my own son? Oh, my god, his memories! How can I put him through that, it will make him relive his life with the Dursleys! I can't do that to him, I just can't make him go through that! But if I don't the elves say the emotions in the castle will make him go insane. Perhaps I should just give up teaching and take him away for a while? But where could we go that would be as safe for us?"

Severus took several minutes to realize that Albus was holding his hands across the solid width of the scarred top of the massive old oak desk. Albus squeezed his hands, finally drawing the man's morose thoughts to a close. "Severus, you don't have to do this alone, we will be there to help you. But we must begin soon or the students will be returning. Go to sleep now, and we will talk in the morning and devise a plan to help him. We can do this and we will do it, even if I have to permanently _Silencio_ Sirius to get him to listen to reason!"

Albus let go of his hands as he walked around the desk and drew the obviously still flabbergasted father into a hug which Severus actually let him do, a sign of just how distracted the potions master really was! "Now, go on back to your son, I'm sure Poppy knows you will be sleeping with him tonight. I will see the two of you in the morning and we will begin working on a solution. Good night child, remember that I love you, both."

Sleep did not come easily for anyone in the castle that night, except the two still drugged in the infirmary. Poppy had decided that the best thing for Sirius would be to keep him mellow with calming potions and semi-awake with sleeping potions until he had time to recover completely. Such emotional turmoil had set back his healing by several days and she would just _not have it_. It had _nothing _to do with him not being able to upset Shaun in that condition, no it was _strictly_ for the man's recovery!

* * *

Shaun had slept most of the next day as his body healed itself. He finally felt well enough the next morning to sit up in his bed and eat porridge while his daddy sat behind him on the bed and played with his long hair. The boy found it remarkably calming to have his daddy run his long, graceful fingers through his hair, softly scratching his scalp and soothing him. Severus let him finish before bringing up the subject he had been waiting two interminably long days to bring up. A flick of his wand moved the now empty tray over to the nightstand while another swift motion cleaned the boy up. He leaned back against the headboard, comfortable against the pile of soft, fluffy pillows as he drew Shaun back onto his lap, leaning against his chest, his fingers still lazily playing with the boy's hair.

"Do you remember what you felt when you were in Grandpa's office the other morning, Shaun?"

"Yes, Daddy, I was reading to Grandpa and I felt that you and Mr. Black were really, really mad and it made my head hurt so bad I just wanted you to stop. And I thought if I went to you, you wouldn't be mad at him any more, but when I 'popped' here, I couldn't even breath anymore, 'cause it hurt so bad. And my eyes were all cloudy and I just hurt bad like Uncle Vernon used to make me feel. I just had to get away!" He was acting upset at the memory so Severus just hummed softly like he had when Shaun had first appeared and he had been healing him of the injuries his uncle had inflicted upon him. His hand never stopping it's rhythmic brushing through Shaun's hair. He waited until he felt the boy relax against his chest once more.

"Ogden told us that you have been feeling what other people feel all year. Why didn't you tell Daddy?"

Shaun just shrugged and tipped his head, "Didn't know you couldn't." Well, that was logical, at least to a four year old.

Severus smiled even though he knew Shaun couldn't see it, "No, child, _very few_ people can feel what other people are feeling. It's called **_empathy_** and Daddy would like to teach you how to block other people's emotions out of your head. Would you like to learn to block your mind?"

Shaun twisted in his daddy's lap so he could look up at him, "Can you teach me? I hate feeling everyone around me. It makes my head hurt and it makes it hard to think. I don't like it, Daddy. Can you make it go away?"

Severus bent down and kissed the top of the child, "No, I can't make it go away forever. But Grandpa and I _can _teach you how to block it unless you want to feel other people. You can chose, just like you chose who can see and hear you. Do you know how you do that now child?" He asked curiously, Shaun had never been able to explain it to them no matter how or who asked.

Shaun remembered promising the house elves to never tell, "No Daddy, I don't know _how_ it works. I just twist my magic and I do it!" That was true, he didn't _know how_ it worked, the house elves had just show him how to do it, not told him exactly how it worked!

Severus put both hands around the boy's chest and squeezed gently in a comforting hug, "That's okay, someday you might be able to explain it to me, but it's okay that you can't. Now, what happened outside? How did you get up in that tree? I've told you before to stay away; the Whomping Willow can be very dangerous as you found out!"

Shaun hung his head and whispered, "I was afraid you were mad like Uncle Vernon, and my head hurt so bad that I popped outside. And then this great big dog came running from Hagrid's hut and I was so scared of it that I just ran and I didn't pay attention to where I was. A great big branch hit my stomach and flung me up in the air and then more branches hit me and I couldn't get away and it hurt so bad and I couldn't call you and…" He was getting more upset with each word, panic beginning to sound in his voice as he remembered.

Severus kissed his head again, taking one hand from the boy's chest he reached up and soothingly stroked the small head rhythmically, over and over, feeling the tenseness bleed out of the taught muscles. He continued to stroke, alternately humming and talking softly about nothing until the boy's even breathing and the increasingly heavy body on his lap let him know that his son was once again asleep.

* * *

It had taken several days for Shaun to recover enough for Poppy to release him from the hospital wing, and Albus, Remus and Severus had taken every day of that time to plan, and then to set those plans into motion. They had moved Sirius to a set of quarters near the Gryffindor towers that were as far away from the Snape's quarters as they could be and still be inside the castle. Albus and Severus had warded the Snape's rooms against mental intrusion and Severus had brewed a mild calming potion specifically for long term use by small children. It had been developed for children that had been traumatized by surviving death eater raids or other violent experiences and could be used for up to six months at a time without adversely affecting their growth or development. So they had six months to teach Shaun how to block others' emotions or the two would have to move out of the protection of the castle and live somewhere else, something none of them particularly wanted to happen.

Albus had talked to several trustworthy mind healers from St. Mungo's and had received quite a lot of helpful information. It seems that they could use a pensieve to help Shaun deal with his traumatic experiences one at a time, and also to help him learn to block them. They would start by planting an obviously false memory for Shaun to find; it would help him eventually figure out which emotions belonged to him and which ones were invaders from another's mind.

But first they had to help Shaun bring some pleasant memories to the forefront of his mind and help him bury his traumatic memories so deep that they wouldn't be dredged up during his training to block emotions. After he had learned to block others, they could help him work through the traumatic memories that they had buried but at a pace that the adults around him controlled rather than having them overwhelm him and bring on nightmares or even withdrawal.

This morning they were going to begin the long slow process and Severus was much more nervous than Shaun was. After the fright last week, it seemed that Shaun had managed to figure out that the overwhelming emotions were not directed _at him_. Severus wondered just how much Shaun was able to 'talk' with Fawkes and how much the phoenix had helped his son over the last year, especially the last week!

Severus had given Shaun a very weak mind opening potion and now had the boy sitting on his lap on a pillow so that they were looking eye to eye comfortably. Albus was sitting directly behind Shaun, both hands cradling the boy's head. Poppy was on one side, carefully monitoring all three of them, wand and potions at the ready. Shaun's brilliant green eyes went glassy and dull and Severus knew the boy was ready. He took a deep breath and let it out, blowing it though his teeth in a soft whistle as he gathered his courage and determination for the difficult task ahead.

"Legilimens." He whispered so as not to startle the boy out of his drug induced trance. Severus felt himself falling as his mind was drawn into his son's memories. He saw flashes of dark, frightening glimpses of anger, pain and unbelievable hate. He dove, parting the boy's mind to find his memories of the days before his parents had been murdered. Ah, a flash of red hair, laughing and smiling, a man with hazel eyes and unruly black hair twirling a giggling child in the air as others looked on in love. Severus latched on tight and drug that memory forward into the conscious part of Shaun's mind, anchoring it securely as a focal point.

He dove deeper and found more pleasant memories for the boy, tying each tightly to his awareness, severing the bonds that held his memories of the nightmare he had lived with his aunt and uncle, letting them fall back into the deep subconscious, burying them under more and more pleasant memories, both those with his parents and, smiling in delight, those that involved Severus himself and the others in the castle.

Severus dragged himself backwards, up and up until he left the boy's mind and collapsed against the back of the chair in exhaustion. Poppy handed him a Pepper-Up potion, her thin lips pursed in disapproval at the amount of time he had spent in deep Legilimency with his son.

Severus grimaced at the taste of the potion, irritated at the steam now pouring out of his ears as he lifted his now extremely heavy head and managed to tell Albus, "I did it. He now has happy memories only in the forefront of his mind. The time with his aunt and uncle are now buried as long forgotten memories." That said, Severus clutched Shaun to his chest, dropped his head back down and the two slept. Albus covered them with a warm blanket, and then standing up, he told Poppy that he would watch them and call her if she was needed. After the mediwitch left the Snape's quarters, he selected a book from Severus' extensive library and settled into a comfortable sofa to read. He stopped just long enough to transfigure Severus' chair into a comfortable recliner, smiling at the sight of Shaun sleeping peacefully on his daddy's chest as he picked up the book and began reading.

* * *

Each morning Severus would give Shaun a nutrient potion laced with a calming draught before breakfast and then both Severus and Albus would work with the boy on building a mental shield. After flying into a cloud bank one afternoon while flying with his daddy, Shaun started to picture himself flying into the fog when he wanted to block his daddy or grandpa. It worked so much better than anything else they had suggested!

Severus thought, ruefully, knowing how much the boy loved to fly sitting in front of his daddy, he should have known that Shaun's shield would incorporate flying or the sky in some way. It certainly wasn't fire or a green meadow for his boy. He smiled as he thought of the wonderful progress they had made in just two short weeks.

Severus' mind was on the remarkable abilities his son was developing as he worked on Remus' Wolfsbane for the coming full moon. He had thought it was a hopeless task to try to teach such a small child Occlumency, and in only two months time. But it had only been two weeks and Shaun was already able to consciously block both his father and his grandfather. And Severus knew it would be only a matter of continuing practice before Shaun wouldn't have to concentrate on shielding others' thoughts and emotions, it would be second nature and need no more conscious thought than breathing would.

His thoughts were definitely not on the potion that he was brewing or he would have noticed that the new jar of salamander ash that he pulled out of his storage cabinet wasn't the same dark grey ash as the last of the old jar. In fact, this ash was so fine and light grey that it was almost white in color. But he was thinking of the progress that his son was making in his studies and the play group that Albus had arranged for him to supervise with Shaun, Neville, and Blaise. They wanted to test Shaun's shields around his friends and those two were the calmest emotionally for Shaun. Too bad it had been arranged for the day before the full moon so Remus wasn't available to supervise them!

As the potion reached a place where he could leave it simmering without him for a few minutes, he cleaned up his work station, replacing unused ingredients back into the storage cabinet, wiping down the work table, cleaning his measures and knives as he made plans on what to do with three small boys all by himself. The timed simmer coming to a close, he began working again, his thoughts never once completely upon the Wolfsbane he was brewing.

* * *

He had taken the three down to feed the giant squid, they had visited Hagrid and played with the now two month old Kneazle kittens, then they had walked back to their quarters for a snack. Hmm, two more hours and then he could feed them lunch and the two boys would be picked up so they could go home for naps! two more hours, what could he do for two hours with three four year old boys that wouldn't have either Albus or the boy's parents killing him? Who would believe that time would go so slowly, after all it was only a total of five hours with three boys, he had been a spy for the light, he was a potion's master; he could do this! Hmm, potions…

* * *

"Neville, don't add the snail bile…" too late, the small cauldron was boiling over, emitting a noxious greenish grey smoke. 'How in the world did he accomplish that with these ingredients? Okay, no more potions…what to do now…?'

"Daddy, can we play Hide and Seek? Can we, Daddy, can we?" Shaun was bouncing in excitement as he pestered his daddy.

'Hide…and…seek? Yes, that could work for the last hour and a half…' Severus agreed quickly.

"Okay boys, I'll sit here on this couch and count to one hundred _slowly_. You go hide, the potions lab and my bedroom are warded so that you cannot enter so don't even try. Shaun, no '_special_' hiding, is that understood?" Shaun nodded his eyes wide and bright in innocence as he understood his daddy.

Severus sat down and started to count, "One…two…three…" He paused between each number, giving the boys plenty of time. He picked up the latest potion journal from the low table in front of him and began to read, saying a number out loud whenever he remembered to, "thirteen…fourteen…seven…eight…" He furrowed his brow as he became immersed in the new formula he was reading about.

Severus had managed to finish the entire twelve page technical discourse when he remembered he was supposed to '_find_' the children now hiding. 'Now where would I be hiding if I was four?' he thought to himself. 'Ah, under a bed!' He tiptoed into Shaun's room and crouched down to look. He chuckled; Blaise had given up, being still and quiet to not be found he was now sleeping under Shaun's bed, curled up on the thick rug in his son's room. 'One down, two to _find!_'

He thought back to his own days of playing with a distant cousin, the closets! Sure enough, a sleeping Neville was curled up in the bottom of Shaun's wardrobe. 'Just Shaun left, I wonder if he gave up and went to sleep too?'

Severus looked in every likely space that he thought his son might be hiding, but no luck. Had the boy not understood and popped somewhere or become invisible? He had talked to him about not doing it in front of his friends but he might have forgotten in the excitement of the game. Hmm, he really didn't want to yell out for Shaun, that might wake the two sleeping in the bedroom and he certainly didn't want _that_ to happen before time to feed them lunch! Wait, he hadn't looked up high and knowing Shaun, he would have climbed like a little monkey. The boy had no fear of heights at all, not even when he _should_ have one. Sure enough, there was a still little foot sticking out of the front of the tallest bookcase beside the fireplace!

Severus quietly pulled a chair over and climbed up to see his son. 'Yes, he was sleeping too! _It worked_! Now, I know I can pick him up and move him when he's sleeping, let me see if I can get him down from here before he rolls over and falls off.' Severus gently brought Shaun down into his arms, carefully stepped down from the chair and laid his son down on the couch, covering him with the knitted throw that Minerva had given them last Christmas that had been draped across the back of the couch.

Severus settled back into his chair, picked up his magazine once again and settled back, conjuring a cup of hot tea. 'And Remus thought I wouldn't be able to handle three small boys! Ha, I'm not Head of Slytherin House for nothing!'

* * *

AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next will deal with mis-brewed potions and the long awaited beginning of magical training for one mischievous or is that devious little boy! 


	7. Chapter 7: Snakes & Snails & Puppy

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: I will answer questions if you will leave them in a review for me, and I thank all of you who have read and reviewed all of my stories. I appreciate each and every one of you (well maybe not the flamers).

AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html (Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.

'_italics'_ is mental speech between Remus and Sirius or Shaun and Fawkes.

Chapter 7: Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Severus had awoken the three boys in time to wash up before taking the three down to the Great Hall to eat with the Headmaster, Poppy, Remus, and Professor McGonagall. As they entered the room, Severus had to wave Poppy away before she could snatch onto his son for a check-up. That blasted woman was always trying to get a Snape into the hospital wing, first him and now his son. Severus thought she was never as happy as when she had _both_ Snapes as patients; but she should just leave the poor boy alone in front of his friends!

The three children were eating something called 'chicken nuggets' and some kind of thin fried potato strips, dipping them both in some bizarre red liquid. Severus thought idly to himself, 'Just what part of a chicken is a nugget actually?' as he enjoyed his own delicately broiled salmon with a savory lemon dill sauce and a perfectly chilled glass of white wine. Ah, the meals in the summer were just exquisite!

Albus was trying to get Severus to try the lemon tart instead of the fresh strawberry pie when Remus dragged himself in to eat. He looked even more worn out and bedraggled than he usually did the day before a full moon, but taking care of Sirius and then the stressful events surrounding Shaun's recent injury followed by the intense training in Occlumency for Shaun, had taken a toll on the man's usual fragile health. Werewolves were incredibly strong creatures, but the monthly transformations combined with the higher than normal body temperature made them all remarkably skinny people the rest of the month, and added to that the normal self-injuries the beasts inflicted upon themselves when no other human was available made them unusually unhealthy for most of their statistically short lives. Albus and Poppy both pushed food on him at any opportunity. The last six months of regular meals, combined with Severus' remarkable nutrient potions had made Remus gain some much needed weight; but he had, once again, lost it with the events of the last month.

Remus glanced at the boys peacefully eating their lunch, too engrossed in their own excited conversations to pay any attention to the adults observing them from their own table. "Did you have any problems this morning with watching them, Severus? How did they interact today? Did Shaun have any problems blocking them?"

Severus smirked at the werewolf as he leaned back, sipping at his wine in satisfaction. "_Absolutely none_, Remus, we walked down to Hagrid's, fed the squid and then came inside where we brewed a very simple potion; then the boys played hide and seek until lunchtime."

At Albus raised eyebrow, Severus dipped his head, not wanting the Headmaster to see his smirking face, "And they all hid so well, I couldn't find them for over an hour until lunchtime!"

"You didn't!" McGonagall was outraged as she spluttered at him. "They could have gotten into trouble being left like that!"

Severus just smirked even more and exclaimed in triumph, "No, they couldn't, they were all sleeping soundly!" The corners of his mouth twitched in repressed laughter.

Remus shook his head in disbelief and dropped his forehead into one hand, "Tell me you didn't give them a sleeping potion or…stun…them?"

Severus sat up straighter in mock offense, "Of course not! They were just hiding so quietly and still that they all fell asleep _on their own_. I just _chose_ not to wake them up!"

Albus' eyes were twinkling madly as he hesitantly asked, "And just _how long_ did they hide for, Severus?"

"Not more than half an hour!" was the indignant response, "Well, no more than forty-five minutes at the most."

Severus looked at his colleagues with a smug expression as they all tried not to laugh until finally, Albus chuckled, and then almost snorted and the rest of the table lost their battle with merriment.

* * *

Albus and Remus had ganged up on Sirius and made him watch their memories of the last year in Albus' pensieve before they would allow him to even ask about Shaun again. Poppy had reluctantly agreed to allow the former Marauder to shift to his dog animagus form to stay with Moony during the full moon the next day, more for Remus' benefit than because she had forgiven the former prisoner.

The ministry no longer required Remus to be locked in a cell in the dungeon during a full moon as long as he had taken the Wolfsbane potion the night before, the night of, and the night following a full moon, so the plan was for Remus and Sirius to be magically and physically locked into Remus' living room during the actual full moon and hopefully the combination of potion and old friend would keep the wolf so under control that Remus would be able to curl up in front of the fire and sleep the night away. At least that was the plan.

Remus had drunk the obligatory goblet of steaming foul grayish glop the night before and now he was standing in his quarters after drinking the second portion of the stuff. He noticed it didn't seem quite as thick and dark grey as he remembered, but Severus was, after all, still trying to perfect it by tweaking the ingredients, so with a shrug, he gulped it down as quickly as possible. Giving an involuntary shudder at the disgusting taste, he managed to chug it down in three or four giant swallows before handing the empty goblet back to the potions master with a quiet, "Thank you Severus, I don't know what I would do without this potion each month. If I haven't made it clear, this gives me hope that I never had before. Your genius allows me to keep my humanity and if there is any way I can ever even begin to repay you, you have only to ask. I will be forever in your debt, as will all of the others you help each month."

Severus' ears turned bright red, unaccustomed to praise and very uncomfortable with receiving any; he brushed the man's gratitude aside, "Just don't forget to drink it. I want _my son_ safe and there is only a single door between you and him."

Severus pointedly ignored the presence of Sirius Black on Lupin's couch as he turned with a billow of his robes, and stalked in long, determined strides out the connecting door, closing it firmly and sealing it with a _Colloportus_ spell followed by the loud click of metal on metal as the massive padlock was engaged as well. Remus took his wand and placed in into the magically locking safe that Dumbledore had made for him to use each month. It would only open for Remus' touch and then only when he was in his human form. Remus walked back over to the couch and sat down beside his old friend, gratefully accepting the sturdy mug of hot tea the man held out to him.

"Thanks, Padfoot, the Wolfsbane potion is remarkable, but it does leave a foul taste in my mouth. I have missed having your company during the full moons, my friend."

Sirius patted Remus on the leg and asked, "How long until moonrise, Moony? I want to be sure to transform into Padfoot before that occurs!"

Remus glanced at the heavy ornately carved oak and brass mantel clock that sat above the oversized white marble fireplace, "Perhaps you had better transform now, Paddy, it's just eleven minutes until moonrise and I can already feel the pull of the moon."

An instant later, Remus was sitting running an idle hand through the long black hair of a giant dog, whose mouth was open in a huge doggy grin, long pink tongue lolling out and seemingly laughing. Remus chuckled at the sight, "You always did make a happy dog, Sirius!" He finished up his tea and banished the tea things to the Hogwarts kitchens with the same command that Dumbledore used to clear the dishes in the Great Hall. The house elves had charmed the dishes to answer to several different distinct words to appear and disappear on command.

Remus stood up and removed his clothing, no use tearing up another set of robes while he was safely contained within his own quarters. As he turned around to look out the window on the far wall, the first pale stream of moonlight hit him and he screamed in agony. 'What was happening? My transformations are terribly painful but I usually didn't feel like I am being torn into shreds and my insides were scrambling into even more unusual shapes.' He fell to the floor, narrowly missing the low table with his head as he fell unconscious, the big black dog, licking his face in a frantic attempt to wake his friend and only 'family'.

Padfoot the dog watched in horrid fascination and fear as first the body of Remus transformed into the familiar shape of Moony, the werewolf that he had spent so many full moons with during their last years at school and then the few years after graduation before James had been murdered and he had been sent to Azkaban. Moony seemed to be flashing back and forth between werewolf and man and something else that looked very familiar, but he couldn't quite recognize as Remus changed too quickly.

Finally after an agonizingly long time, the werewolf disappeared and Remus was fully human for a few brief moments before a large silver wolf appeared on the floor between the couch and the table that Padfoot had managed to push aside to give his friend room to transform and then go through violent, thrashing convulsions without hurting himself further. Padfoot sniffed the wolf apprehensively but could smell nothing of the werewolf in the animal now unconscious on the floor in front of him. He sat back on his haunches and contemplated his friend. Remus was now a very large wolf; a perfectly normal wolf, about a meter tall at the shoulders, and covered in the most incredibly soft pale silver fur that almost glowed brightly in the light of the full moon. His ears and tail were a beautiful darker grey, almost black as were all four feet, gradually shading lighter and lighter until they matched the rest of his fur by knee height.

Padfoot whined at the wolf, nuzzling it to get it to wake up. He cowered down; being as non-threatening as possible, as he hesitantly licked the wolf's face again and again. The wolf twitched, let out a low growl and eventually opened the most shockingly glowing blue grey eyes in bewilderment and confusion. The wolf lifted his head and looked around, spotting Padfoot cowering beside him, he jumped to his feet, swaying with dizziness before leaning his magnificent head down to sniff at the dog lying at his feet in submission.

'I recognize his scent. He is a dog, but he is also 'pack'; we belong together.' The wolf licked the dog's muzzle in recognition and acceptance before moving gracefully and lithely around the oddly familiar room. 'I am not a wolf, I am a man, a wizard…I am… Remus… Lupin!' It had taken several minutes, but Remus' mind had conquered the animal and he was in control of the animal at last. 'But why am I a wolf instead of a werewolf? Not that I'm complaining!' His thoughts were jumbled in confusion as he looked out in child-like wonder at the full moon bathing the landscape in light as bright as day to his enhanced eyesight.

Padfoot had stood and came to stand silently beside his friend; he tried to communicate with him as they had between werewolf and dog for all those years, _'Moony, do you know what happened? This isn't how you explained the potion works, is it?'_

'_I don't know what happened, Padfoot, it has never worked like this before. I was always still a werewolf, I just kept my human mind, but this is just…different, I can't even feel the wolf inside me anymore. It's like he is totally gone for the first time since I was bitten, I can't explain it any other way.'_

'_Can you transform back to a human, Moony? I mean are you still a werewolf that just looks like a real wolf now? Or are you an animagus like me now?'_

'_I don't know if I can transform, Paddy, I never learned how, remember? I don't even know the incantations, let alone the process! I never had any control over the wolf.'_

The two pondered this new occurrence for almost an hour before Paddy suggested, _'Let me transform back to human, wait just listen to me! I'll transform back just for a minute and then back into my dog form. You go way over there on the other side of the room and just see if the werewolf's instinct to attack anything human comes out or not.'_

It took a good half an hour of arguing on Sirius' behalf, but Remus finally agreed to the quick test to see if he would still turn into an uncontrollably wild beast at the scent of a human in the room. Paddy quickly turned human, waited only a minute, and then back into a dog. _'Anything, Moony?'_

'_No, nothing. And I could definitely smell you, very clearly. I still recognize your scent and knew who you were and felt no different. Try again for a longer period.'_

Padfoot complied and the results were the same. It was almost four in the morning before Sirius no longer transformed back into Padfoot and just sat, running his hands through the wonderfully soft pelt of the wolf that was lying beside him on the couch, his long muzzle on his leg as he enjoyed the peaceful stroking of his best friends hands, in exactly the reverse of their postures from earlier.

"So, Moony, we need to let the others know so we can figure out what has happened to you. I hate to say this, but you're going to have to move so I can go knock on the door for Snape!"

The wolf just whined in disappointment, but moved and stood up just the same, before going over to lie down on the thick woolen rug in front of the cold fireplace. Sirius walked over to the connecting door and banged his fist loudly on the oak panel. He kept repeating the pounding until he could hear a snarling voice hissing menacingly through the door.

"This had better be important, it's four _bloody_ thirty in the morning and you woke up Shaun and _scared _him with your pounding. He's hiding in my bed with Nippy right now!" Severus scraped the large padlock off of the clasp in frustration, then pulled his wand and said, '_Alohomora_!' louder than it needed to be said. He kept his wand on Black as he growled at him, "What do you want; and where's the werewolf?" Severus was looking around the room cautiously, wand ready and a spell ready on his lips just in case.

Black just pointed behind him and a huge silver wolf walked calmly out from behind the man and sat peacefully down on its haunches; grinning at the stunned and speechless potion's master. Severus went to sit down, only remembering there was no chair behind him when he hit the hard stone floor, bruising his bum. "What? How? Who? But that's **_not possible_**!"

Black barked a harsh laugh, "Never though I'd see the day! Snape is speechless!"

"Shut it, you mongrel and tell me what I want to know! What happened and why isn't Remus a werewolf?" Severus snarled and glared at the still laughing man.

"Remus doesn't know why the _werewolf_ became a _regular wolf_. He can't transform into a human because he doesn't know how and I don't have a wand so I can't help him. He went through the worst transformation I've ever witnessed him having, and then he went into convulsions for a long time before he became human and then finally transformed into the wolf you see before you." Sirius had managed to stop laughing long enough to explain to Severus.

The two men and the wolf looked in astonishment as, with a loud cry, a small form ran between them and launched itself at the wolf's neck in glee. "Uncle Moony! Uncle Moony! Can I have a ride, can I, please?" Shaun didn't wait for an answer but swung one leg up and over the wolf, grabbing thick handfuls of fur to climb the beast until he was firmly settled on the huge wolf, both hands firmly snagged into the fur as he kicked both heels into the animals side yelling, "Go Uncle Moony, go!" The wolf looked back at the two men who were now laughing at it, and giving a wolf shrug started slinking around the room in resignation.

As Severus went back into his quarters, throwing on a robe over his pajamas, he floo called the Headmaster and Madame Pomfrey to come to his room immediately. Albus showed up almost immediately, wearing purple pajamas with moons and stars that whirled madly around them and a brilliantly clashing red dressing gown thrown hastily over it. Poppy showed up right behind him, wearing her usual professional manner over a sensible dressing gown and carrying an emergency medical bag strapped over one shoulder. She had her wand out and ready as she asked, even before completely clearing the fireplace, "Where is he and how badly is he hurt?"

Severus actually goggled at the woman as he silently motioned towards the open connecting door towards Remus' room. Poppy stalked towards the door, muttering just loud enough to be clearly heard, "Stupid idea, leaving a sick man in dog form in a room with a werewolf! I knew someone would get hurt." She had only taken one step over the threshold when she froze so suddenly that Albus walked into her back and almost tripped them both onto the floor. Poppy grabbed the doorframe and steadied them both, "What in the name of the seven hells is this? Where's Remus and who let a fully grown wolf into the castle. And why are you letting _a four year old_ ride it?"

Sirius came forward and led the woman to the couch where he pushed gently on her shoulders until she sat down. Albus entered behind her and also took a seat, looking expectantly between Sirius, Severus and the wolf with a gleefully giggling boy bouncing on its back as he rode around the room.

Sirius told his story once more and then shrugged his shoulders at their astonished looks. Poppy pulled out her wand again, and cast a diagnostic spell towards the wolf where he now sprawled in exhaustion on the floor with Shaun still delightedly climbing all over him like a particularly large and living pillow. Everyone turned to look expectantly at Severus where he still stood, one shoulder leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest, one ankle over the other as he stood poised on one foot. He raised one eyebrow and then uncharacteristically shrugged, finally admitting, "I don't know. I haven't changed anything in the formula this month. I was _too busy_ with Shaun and _the mutt_ to have time to experiment."

Albus looked pointedly at Poppy and raised his eyebrow in his own unspoken question. "He's _not_ a werewolf; he is a very healthy wizard who is _transformed_ into a wolf. Can you understand me, Remus?" She answered, perplexed at the readings from her diagnostic spells.

The wolf simply picked up his head and nodded once before dropping it again in exhaustion. Shaun was now sitting on top of his head, playing with his ears, up, down, around, and then up again before reaching for his long pink tongue and pulling it out to see how long it was. Remus let out a long suffering whine of complaint, so Severus took pity on the poor man and went over to scoop his son up in his arms and turned the boy over to Nippy to give him a bath and then breakfast.

"Severus, if you will assist me?" Albus had pulled out his own well worn wand and was pointing it at the wolf. Severus strode up beside the couch and aimed. Black quickly grabbed Remus' robes from where they were folded on the end of the couch and draped them over the still form on the floor.

The two wizards aimed at the wolf and in tandem, incanted the animagus transformation spell, causing the wolf to glow with a bright white light before morphing into the form of Remus, slumped to the floor, his robe covering his naked form. Black and Poppy rushed to his side as Severus sank down beside Albus, his thoughts so focused on the Wolfsbane potion and how it could have managed to transform a werewolf into a wolf animagus without killing him. He was totally oblivious to the efforts of both Albus and Poppy to ask him questions and failed to even take note of Black helping Remus to stand up and then dress, before Sirius grabbed Remus under an arm and led him into his own bedroom. A few moments later, Black returned, telling those waiting in the room, "He's already asleep, I think the dual transformations, combined with the convulsions, and then being ridden by the boy just made him exhausted, but if you could look him over later I'd appreciate it Poppy." He pulled around an overstuffed armchair and sat down, facing the two wizards and one witch now sitting on Remus' couch across from him.

Severus was muttering under his breath, but not loud enough or clear enough for anyone to recognize much besides the occasional name of a potion ingredient in the rant. The other three let him continue on his mental exercises until he finally just slumped back against the couch in defeat.

"Any conclusions, Severus?" The Headmaster's voice was soft but compelling.

Severus dragged a hand through his uncombed and still sleep rumpled hair in frustration. "It is _impossible_, it should _not _have happened, **_but it did_**! I have no explanation, the ingredients as combined should only have allowed Remus to maintain his human mind, not transform a _werewolf_ into an _animagus_! How did he do it?" Severus still had his head leaned tiredly over the back of the couch, his eyes closed, and a thin long-fingered hand pinching the bridge of his large, hooked nose in consternation.

Albus chucked, "Well, that is a problem then; isn't it? I am assuming that you have more of the potion left to analyze it to see what happened and that you will want us to watch Shaun for you while you are working?"

Severus nodded once in acknowledgement and waved one hand dismissively as he stood, absentmindedly talking to himself; as he walked through the luckily still open door and headed for his private lab.

Poppy shook her head and looked knowingly at the chuckling old man, "We will be lucky to see him for days, if I know Severus Snape! I will have a difficult job getting him to stop long enough to eat and sleep until he solves this puzzle you know!"

Albus put a warm hand on her leg and just patted it as he turned to look at Sirius, his expression turning hard and calculating. "I trust I can count on you, Sirius, to not take advantage of his distraction, and you will, at all times, act appropriately and acceptably toward both Severus and his son, Shaun while he is working on this problem?"

Sirius looked down at his shoes, feeling as if he was once again eleven years old and standing in front of his headmaster for putting sticking charms on the toilet seats in the girl's bathrooms. "Yes, sir. Remus and you have convinced me that Severus and …Shaun…love each other. I will try my best to be civil and act accordingly. I never want to cause such distress to …Shaun…ever again. Remus' memories were quite enough to open my eyes!" Sirius was still having a difficult time calling the boy 'Shaun' but he was trying, and it was getting easier to remember, the more times that he actually managed to remember to do it.

Remus had threatened to obliviate his memory of _who_ Shaun actually was _and_ send him away from the castle if he didn't grow up and let go of his schoolboy grudges. Sirius still had bad times, after all, the memories of all the bad times in his life was all he had lived every day at Azkaban for the last three and a half years, but each day that he was away from the dementors influence, he was regaining more and more of his happy or even just neutral memories to help make the bad ones fade.

* * *

They had locked Remus and Sirius up again for the last night of the full moon, but he had not transformed at all, either into a werewolf or even into a wolf, so the two men had slept uneventfully all night, and were much better prepared for the invasion of a small excited small boy the next morning. He was very disappointed to find a totally _human_ Remus instead of a wolf to ride, but he was quickly diverted when a big, black dog came running into the living room and allowed him to climb all over it and ride it around the room until they left for breakfast.

Severus hadn't left his lab until Albus literally dragged him out to eat a late supper and then forced him into bed at almost midnight the night before. He had arisen when Shaun woke him at seven; made sure the boy was dressed, hugged him once distractedly and pushed him into Remus' quarters before turning to his lab once more. He was taking the last of the leftover potion and separating it into its different components. So far he had not found _anything_ different from what he expected, but he was almost done with the initial separations and then he could begin to analyze each individual ingredient.

* * *

Shaun was screaming in glee as Remus dipped toward the ground, speeding through the air as he held tightly onto the broomstick between his knees, his Uncle's hand firmly grasped around his small waist as his other hand firmly clutched the broomstick to control it. Shaun loved to fly and although Remus never flew as high or as fast as his Daddy did, it was still his favorite way to spend an afternoon. Shaun wasn't paying much attention as a bludger sped toward them, but catching the movement out of the corner of his eye, he let go with both hands and grabbed the large ball, yelling in excitement as his Uncle grabbed at him as centrifugal force threatened to tear them both off the now tumbling broom. Sirius managed to grab Moony from behind, stabilizing them on the wildly gyrating broom, and allowing Moony to grab Shaun with both hands, clutching the wiggling boy, who was still holding tightly to the struggling bludger with both small arms, refusing to let it go.

Remus and Sirius made their way still shaking to the ground as Shaun clutched the large ball; that was still shaking as it tried to escape, to his chest. As soon as Remus had both feet steady on the ground, he turned toward Sirius and began to berate the man directly behind him. **_"Grow up Sirius; you could have killed us both with that idiotic stunt. Whatever possessed you to throw a bludger at us? Of all the stupid, juvenile stunts…"_**

Sirius put his hand over Remus' mouth, cutting off his tirade, "I didn't send it, Moony, I never had a bludger, and as far as I know none of them were released on the pitch today."

Remus stopped in mid rant and looking around quickly, he pulled his wand from its holder and motioned Sirius to take Shaun back to the castle while he covered their retreat. Not a word was said as Sirius scooped up the protesting boy, dropped the bludger on the ground and took off at a loping run towards the entrance steps. Remus followed, turning from side to side, keeping careful watch as his 'cub' and his 'pack mate' escaped into the shelter of the stone edifice behind them.

The two men didn't stop until they stood at the gargoyle guarding the staircase up to the Headmaster's office. Remus was panting as he looked at Sirius, who was bent over, Shaun still in his arms, trying to catch his own breath. "I don't know the password for this week, do you?"

Sirius shook his head, too out of breath to answer. Shaun looked from one to the other and then simply put both hands onto the gargoyle that obligingly moved, the staircases beginning to turn in invitation upwards. Remus shrugged once and stepped onto the first step, Sirius holding Shaun right behind him.

* * *

"Albus, someone shot a bludger at Shaun while I had him riding on the front of my broom just now. If Shaun hadn't managed to catch it and hold onto it, and Sirius hadn't managed to grab us and stabilize my broom so that we could land safely, we might have been _killed_!" Remus was speaking loudly and in great distress.

Sirius had collapsed into the couch, Shaun still clutched tightly to his heaving chest as he fought to catch his gasping breath. He was unable to speak and had managed the long run inside and then up the stairs to the headmaster's office purely on adrenaline. Neither of them had noticed the fourth man, standing in the shadows, looking out on the grounds in shock.

"Severus, did you see anyone?" Albus had stood up and come over to the window, putting an arm around the visibly shuddering man. Shaun fought free from Sirius' tight grasp and ran to his Daddy, clutching him on the legs as if he never intended to let him go again. Severus quickly dropped to his knees and pulled his son into a frantic embrace, kissing the soft cheek to reassure himself that the boy was still all right as he stood up, his son still in his arms.

"No, I might have seen a shadow move over behind Hagrid's hut but it was deep in the forest and I never saw anything clearly. But I did see the bludger come from that direction." He was burying his face in the boy's hair, inhaling the unique baby scent that belonged only to his son.

Albus used the arm he still had around Severus' shoulders to lead the two to an upholstered chair situated across from the sofa the two men sat on, finally recovering their breaths from their strenuous panicked run.

Albus sat in the matching chair and steepled his hands in thought, "Severus was up here, telling me the results of his analysis of the new Wolfsbane potion. He heard Shaun yelling in glee from the front of Remus' broom and stepped over to watch from the window when he saw the bludger coming from the forest right at the two of you. We were both too far away to do anything, but witnessed your remarkable and thankfully safe landing. Thank you both gentlemen for your diligence."

Severus nodded at the two wizards sitting across from him and added, "I almost died, watching you without being able to do anything to help. Thank you, both of you!"

Severus pulled a calming potion out of his pocket for Shaun, who had become upset at feeling the turmoil of emotions from the four men, he drank it down and finally went to sleep, safe and secure in his Daddy's arms, the silky baritone rumbling from the man's chest almost as soothing to the frayed nerves of the small boy as the potion had been.

The four had talked for over an hour but come to no conclusions, there were several groups that would want harm to come to Severus, either directly or indirectly through harming his son. The only conclusion that they came to was the need to have at least one person on the ground watching for intruders while Shaun was up in the air but other than that, there was not much they could do with the little information that they had.

* * *

Life settled into a routine for the next few days as Severus continued to try to identify the one incredibly unique ingredient he had separated out from the Wolfsbane. Every other ingredient was recognized, though it appeared to be too little of the salamander ash in the potion, but perhaps it had destabilized and been destroyed in the process used to separate the individual ingredients. Salamander ash was notorious for being unstable and was the main reason the Wolfsbane could not be stored for very long before it became not only useless but downright toxic.

Remus was working with Professor McGonagall and Sirius to become an animagus, while Poppy and Albus took turns babysitting Shaun. McGonagall said that since he already knew his form and had actually managed to transform into it once before, it should only take him a month or so to be able to transform by himself. Poppy had performed three separate diagnostic spells used to identify anyone afflicted with Lycanthropy but his tests were all remarkably negative. He was no longer cursed, but no one knew why, and they hadn't informed the ministry yet because they obviously couldn't duplicate the effect.

Sirius was slowly recovering from the ill advised exertion of flying followed by sheer panic driven flight and then running up four flights of stairs, but there had been no lasting damage done. He enjoyed being Padfoot for Shaun and had begrudgingly acknowledged that Severus and Shaun belonged together and had it forcibly pounded into his head that if he wanted to have any part of James and Lily's son's life, he would call the boy 'Shaun' and act civilly to his father at the very least. And he was trying very hard.

* * *

Albus had invited his old friend Mafalda Hopkirk from the Underage Magic Office to tea and had Remus bring young Shaun up to introduce him to the ancient witch. Shaun sensed only curiosity and kindness so he was more than willing to show the elderly lady some of his 'games' like his grandpa wanted.

He sat on the chair, his legs straight out in front of him as he was too short to put his knees over the edge, with his tongue sticking out and his brow furled in concentration. He had both hands lying flat on his legs, his eyes shut, as a large ball of pure energy appeared over his left hand. He blinked several times and each time he blinked, the ball split, much as a cell divided under a muggle microscope.

When he had a total of five balls, one shrunk and turned purple, one grew almost to the size of a quaffle ball and turned bright red, the remaining three stayed the same size, but one turned green, one blue and the last one a canary yellow with a wide orange stripe around it. Shaun opened his eyes to look at his grandfather's beaming face, the proud smile on his teacher's and the gobsmacked stare on the elderly witch's face as she unknowingly poured the tea in her cup out onto her lap.

"My goodness! That's remarkable, Albus! How old is he? And how is he doing that wandless but in such control?" the witch was asking questions too rapidly to wait for an answer so Albus just laughed and said, "Slow down, Mafalda and I will be happy to explain and tell you why I asked you here today."

He waved his wand and _Scourgified_ the tea off of her robes while he refilled her now empty tea cup. "This is Shaun Snape and he will be five years old in just three more weeks. He had been conjuring balls since he was _three years old_ and he has shown other unique capabilities. Shaun would you show this nice witch how you can hide?"

Shaun looked at Remus for confirmation and at his teacher's nod, he twisted his magic and with a shimmer of light he disappeared from where he was sitting. He climbed down and walked over to the lady and touched her on the arm, making her jump in surprise. He shimmered into view and touched her again. "Now, Shaun, would you go over near to Fawkes without walking, son?" Shaun 'popped' and with a very soft whoosh of air, he reappeared under Fawkes' perch, reaching up to pet his friend. _'Hi, Fawkes, how are you today?'_ Shaun trilled softly to the phoenix under his breath.

'_Very fine, hatchling, and how are you?' _Fawkes trilled back. He bent his head into the boy's soft caress and continued, _'Soon, you will be my fledgling and I will teach you how to really fly. Ah, the joys of wings and fire, hatchling! A little while longer, you are not yet strong enough to manage the transformation, but soon you will be._ _Work hard and listen to your teachers and your father, and the time will be soon.'_

Shaun gave a final stroke to the magnificent bird and walked over to climb up on his grandfather's lap and patted down his robe pockets. Albus chuckled and pulled out a slightly squashed chocolate frog package. He leaned down and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't tell your father, child, he will be upset with me giving you sweets on top of the lovely tea." Shaun nodded and hid the frog in his own pocket for later, pulling a small plate with a chocolate éclair and a scone with clotted cream and raspberry jelly toward him in delight.

Shaun leaned back against his grandfather's tickly beard and listened to the adults interesting conversation as it flowed over his head, daintily eating his tea as his Grandma had taught him. Albus was explaining the situation to the old witch and she was nodding her head as she sipped her tea. "So you can see why we need to have permission for Shaun to receive his wand early, and to exempt him from the normal underage magic restrictions. We need to train him early and well beyond the magic normally taught to young children. I suspect you can agree that he doesn't use 'accidental' magic at all, but is very much aware and in full control even at his young age."

Mafalda was very shrewd, she had to be to have survived so many bungling and inept administrations, though she had to admit, Cornelius Fudge took the cake as the biggest idiot to be Minister in a long time. She would have to carefully couch her language, but she was sure that Albus would understand her completely. "Yes, I quite agree the boy needs to be trained, by '_competent and caring'_ instructors. It's a shame so many '_competent_' young people chose not to work for the '_ministry_' these days." She thought for a few more moments before continuing, "Minister Fudge tends to surround himself with the '_right people'_ you know, those who believe exactly as he does. I'm sure we can handle this without '_bothering_' the Minister, his time is just so valuable to '_waste_' with one small boy."

Albus leaned back into his chair, his blue eyes twinkling merrily across the top of the boy's black hair as he nodded in agreement with Mafalda's unspoken message. She pulled a quill out of her pocket and borrowing a piece of parchment from the headmaster's desk, she scrawled out a permit for underage magic and a waiver to purchase a wand for an underage wizard named, Shaun Snape. Remus picked up Shaun off of Albus' lap and throwing the now squealing boy over one shoulder; he trudged down the staircase to take him down to meet with Sirius to play, 'Ride the Doggy', one of Shaun's favorite indoor games. Remus couldn't wait to be able to transform and play as a wolf with the both of them.

* * *

Shaun was feeling bored and full of mischief; Daddy had been busy and wouldn't let him into his lab, Remus had been busy with Grandma learning to become a wolf and no one would let him go outside to ride on brooms since someone had sent that strange ball at them that almost made his Uncle Moony and him fall off of his broom. He hadn't been really scared until he 'felt' the fear of all those around him and then he could 'sense' his Daddy's panic and rage from Grandpa's office. The exercises in blocking his empathy had worked really well, he had known what they were feeling but it hadn't overwhelmed him like before.

He was bored, and all of the adults at the dinner table were talking over his head again. The students were all gone, the castle was mostly empty and he missed Blaise and Neville. He looked around, trying to find something to do; he had a naughty thought and giggled. He thought really hard and made his Daddy's glass dribble down his chin when he took a sip. Daddy continued to talk with just a small frown as he wiped the small spill with his napkin. Well, that _worked_, but it wasn't very _exciting._ He looked at Grandma and thought really hard as she dished a piece of lamb on her plate. It turned a bright, sickening green. But she just cut it up and ate a piece while continuing to talk to Madame Pomfrey without even looking down at her plate.

Hum; he really didn't like _her_ very much, she always wanted him to drink foul tasting potions. Maybe she should taste some of her own medicines. He concentrated, ignoring Grandma's squeak of surprise as she noticed that she was eating lime green meat. Unsuspecting of anything, Poppy brought her pumpkin juice to her lips and took a big gulp…and gagged, spitting the now foul tasting brownish glop out and down the front of her robes.

Shaun giggled softly as two very irate witches turned toward Mr. Black and started yelling at him about pulling pranks and how he needed to _grow up_. Grandma rolled her eyes and said he needed to _practice looking innocent_ more and that she didn't believe anything he said, after all he had always tried to protest his innocence at school and she hadn't believed him _then _either!

Daddy, Uncle Moony and Grandpa were all laughing at Mr. Black getting yelled at so Shaun decided he would stop, it was very entertaining after all and he wasn't as bored now.

* * *

AN: Next, Shopping in Diagon Alley and the Trials Begin I hope to have a web page up in the next week that will have links to download copies of Guardians of Power and the Invisible Snape series. Keep checking my author page and I will get that up and running as soon as I can. Thanks for your contiuing reviews, they keep me typing. 


	8. Chapter 8: Diagon Alley

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html (Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.

'_Italics'_ is mental speech.

Chapter 8: Diagon Alley

Shaun was so excited, Daddy and Grandpa were taking him someplace called Diagon Alley this morning and he was going to get a wand and even an ice cream if he was good. He had never been allowed to have ice cream at his relatives, but Dudley's had always looked like it was very good and he had sure acted like it was wonderful.

Severus had made sure his son was dressed in nice robes and had his little wizard hat pushed down on his forehead, Albus had applied a sticking charm to it so it couldn't be blown off, knocked off or let his forehead show. The newer puckered scar had faded over the last year but, if you knew _where_ to look and looked _very hard_, his famous lightening bolt was just visible. Poppy said that when the time came, she would be able to remove his other scars, that they were not actually real but had been applied through some strange magic that she didn't recognize; perhaps Shaun himself didn't want the lightening bolt scar seen so he had managed to once again disguise himself in a unique manner, but no one knew for sure.

The three were waiting in Albus' office for Remus to join them before they would be leaving by floo to the Leaky Cauldron and then into Diagon Alley for the morning. Remus walked in, buttoning up his faded and patched robes as he entered the office.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to get Paddy settled in for the day. He wanted to come and get a new wand too, the ministry still says they don't know what happened to his old one, but Poppy refused to let him even attempt magic yet, so he finally agreed that I would take him later." Remus had finished and stood beside the other three, finally ready to go.

Severus scooped Shaun up and held him tightly to his chest, "Remember, close your eyes and mouth tight so you don't get any ash in them, and keep your elbows tucked in so you don't get bumped out unexpectedly in another fireplace; or scrapped up as we go past them." Severus bent down and stole a kiss while his son was busy looking at his Grandpa disappear in a flash of brilliant green flame. The plan was for Albus to go first and make sure the 'clientele' at the popular wizarding pub wouldn't contain anyone too interested in Severus and Shaun. He would cast a discrete _notice me not_ charm that would allow the rest of the party to arrive without anyone paying too much attention to them. The plan was to sneak into and out of Diagon Alley with as little fuss and notice as possible. At least, that was the plan!

* * *

Shaun squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath as they spun and spun until he couldn't resist and peeked through his eyelashes. The twirling colors and flashes of other rooms visible through the rapidly appearing and disappearing fireplaces was enough for him to heed his father's advice and shut his eyes tightly once more. Severus stepped gracefully out of the oversized public fireplace in the pub, accepting Albus' arm under his elbow only because of the small boy sitting on his bent arm. The three moved rapidly through the darkened, smoky room and out the back into a small cramped alleyway. The tiny clear space between the dustbins and the crates of supplies for the bar was barely big enough for them as Remus joined them, his wand out and ready to touch the brick wall in front of them in a deliberate pattern.

Shaun reached a hand out to the wall, feeling the intense and powerful magic in the wall in front of him. Before Remus' wand made contact, the wall began to move, the bricks turning and shrinking to form the familiar archway to the wizarding world with just the barest touch from a tiny little hand. Severus looked startled, Remus just stood there; his wand still out and ready, and Albus twinkled even more merrily than normal. Shaun had his mouth open and his head was almost spinning like an owl's as he tried to look at everything and everyone simultaneously before the press of people and their overwhelming emotions overpowered his newly built shields.

Shaun's body started to tremble and the shudders became deeper and stronger as they moved into the alley, heading for Gringotts, the wizarding bank that was run by the goblin nation. Severus motioned to the other two as he stepped to the side and stooped down, placing Shaun's feet onto the ground as he held the boy tightly to his chest with one hand placing the other slim hand under his son's chin, forcing the boy's face up so that he could look deeply into the panicking and fear filled eyes. Severus forced his own emotions deep as he whispered "Legilimens" and insinuated his own mind gently into his son's mind. Albus and Remus understood what was happening and each placed a hand in support on both of the wizards now in front of them. Severus accepted the support offered on behalf of his son with gratitude, as he delved deeper into the boy's rapidly escaping consciousness. 'Shaun, come child, let Daddy help you build up your shields once more. They will not hurt you; you just aren't used to so many people around you again. Come child, take Daddy's 'hand' and I will help you." The panicking thread of the boy's mind halted its escape, and then grew stronger as he accepted the help of his Daddy and the two who held onto his shoulders.

'I forgot to shield, Daddy, I'm sorry! Are you mad at me?' Shaun's mental voice quavered with emotion.

'No, Shaun, Daddy isn't mad at you, I just want to help you shield once more so we can go find the perfect wand for you. Remember what you learned, build up your walls a layer at a time and build them strong. Come on, you can do it, that's right.' Severus could feel the shields beginning to rebuild, even stronger than they had been at Hogwarts. 'That's right, son, Daddy is so proud of you. You did it!' The last was said just as Shaun's mental barricade managed to force his Daddy's presence up and out of his mind.

Severus reached up and grabbed the back of Shaun's neck and pulled his head forward to kiss him on the forehead, just under the wizard's hat still tightly perched on the boy's head. He repeated aloud, "Daddy's very proud of you Shaun, you did a very good job!" His voice was soft and gentle, his words only for the small group standing to the side of the busy thoroughfare. He stood up, settling Shaun on his hip, his left arm encircling the small waist as the others removed their hands and the group once more set off for the imposing white marble edifice that overshadowed and dwarfed the rest of the shops on the Alley.

Albus and Remus stood back and then wandered over to sit on a intricately wrought iron bench at the side of the massive lobby as Severus and Shaun approached a tall desk with a single ferocious looking goblin perched upon a high backless stool. The goblin looked up at their approach and blinked several times very rapidly, his expression unreadable, before scratching hurriedly on a piece of parchment and then sending one of the junior goblins that were standing in a bunch behind him; waiting to escort customers on the mining carts to the individual vaults. The younger goblin almost ran, his odd pointed shoes clattering loudly on the marble floor as he traversed the maze of desks and busy goblins to disappear behind an ornately carved, but very short door into the bowels of the great bank.

Severus looked back at Albus, one eyebrow raised in confusion; Albus just looked puzzled and shrugged his own shoulders back. Shaun was looking around once again, now that his emotional barricade was sturdy again, he was more curious than anything else. There were only a few more wizards standing in line if front of the Snapes when the small door opened and a shocked silence filled the entire lobby, spreading from the goblins working at their books on their high stools behind the counter, through the goblins helping various wizards and witches, finally spreading to the wizards and witches being helped; as all eyes were drawn inexorably and seemingly without conscious thought to the entourage regally appearing through the ornate door. Four goblins, dressed in formal battle robes, pikes held aloft, swords and axes strapped to their torsos, obviously an honor guard for the ancient goblin they surrounded, were first to enter the lobby; surrounding a single majestic figure.

The small goblin in the center was stooped with age and yet exuded a presence, a bearing that made all those within the walls of the magnificent edifice immediately aware that they were in the presence of royalty. This feeling was reinforced as each goblin, as if rehearsed, slid from their stool, deserted their customers and hastily formed a double line, each individual bowing down so low that their foreheads almost touched the polished marble of the floor. The honored goblin was dressed all in red and gold, his robes so embroidered and embellished that the material underneath was barely visible. Upon his stately head, a metal hat, not quite a crown, but not a battle helm either was clearly visible, his bald pate reflecting the flickering lights of the torches lining the walls. He was followed at a respectful distance by an entourage of equally elderly and wise goblins, his court of advisors perhaps. The procession covered the open ground of the lobby in a stately, measured fashion, until it came to a stop directly in front of Severus where he was standing open mouthed and shocked, still holding Shaun to his chest in an unconscious stance of protection. The two forward guards moved away and strode purposefully toward the bench where they bowed before Albus and Remus, directing them with gestures to join the group. They remaining two guards stood to either side of Severus, the two guards fell in behind the four wizards and the majestic goblin; Albus and Remus now encircled by the honor guard as well as Severus, Shaun and the personage. The ancient goblin turned, his entourage split respectfully to each side to allow the group of goblins and wizards to pass before falling in behind them to proceed to the now magically taller carved door, which opened soundlessly as they approached it.

Shaun was reaching over to touch the ancient goblin's ornate headpiece in delight and curiosity; Severus trying to pull his son's arm back surreptitiously as they followed the ancient personage. The goblin turned toward Shaun with a grotesque caricature of a smile, his sharp, yellowed fangs gleaming wetly. He reached out a gnarled and weathered hand, and urged Shaun to walk beside him. Severus reluctantly placed his son on the floor, where the boy promptly accepted the hand offered to him, and began chattering innocently to the goblin about how excited he was, and how wonderful the bank and the goblins were. Severus just hoped the boy didn't say anything utterly embarrassing or insulting enough to start the next goblin rebellion in his enthusiastic chattering. He felt Albus' hand briefly brush across his shoulder and visibly relaxed, letting out a deep breath in an inaudible sigh.

* * *

The inhabitants of Diagon Alley were in a panic. Gringotts was **_CLOSED_**; an occurrence never before happening in the history of the magical street, and that was a _very long_ history, indeed! All of the customers had been politely but firmly escorted out of the bank, the doors had sealed, and, in fact, disappeared from view while a battalion of goblins, each dressed in full battle gear, helmets festooned with multicolored exotic feathers, axes and swords barely concealed by their short capes stood ready, almost shoulder to shoulder guarding the entrance.

In less than five minutes time, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, surrounded by a phalanx of red robed Aurors appeared in front of Gringotts, followed almost simultaneously by a horde of reporters and other gaping sightseers, shoppers, and befuddled shopkeepers. Fudge marched up to the oldest looking and ornately medaled goblin that was standing directly in front of the sealed entrance to the bank, surrounded by an army of Aurors, and stopped, directly in front of the goblin, who just reached to the Minister's chest. But the ferocious visage of a fully trained battle goblin in complete formal battle regalia instantly commanded more respect that the slightly pudgy and dissipated face of the huffing wizard in his overpriced gaudy yellow robes, and his formed felt lime green bowler hat that was squashed down upon his head in self importance. Fudge's voice involuntarily cracked and squeaked as he tried to sound intimidating. "I _demand _that you open the doors, at once! What is the meaning of this?"

The goblin managed to look down his misshapen and pointed nose, even though he was a good foot shorter than the bombastic insect in front of him, and said a single sentence, his voice deep and commanding; sending an involuntary shiver through all those who heard it. _"Gringotts' is closed until further notice for High Holy Day; it will reopen when the ceremonies are completed."_ He looked through the wizard who remained spluttering and spouting demands in front of him as if he no longer existed.

After several minutes of obviously unsuccessful demands and blustering; the Minister and his entire entourage disappeared with a series of pops; that sounded like popcorn in a hot fire, leaving the onlookers and shopkeepers to wonder just what a Goblin High Holy day was and exactly what kind of ceremonies were involved.

* * *

Shaun had stopped babbling and was once again looking around in silent amazement as the entire group came to a pair of massive doors, gilded and embossed in gold that gleamed in the light of hundreds of flickering torches. The armed guards fell back to each side and the doors opened without a single word or touch, revealing a large open chamber; several stories high with ornate, carved white marble pillars flanking each side that reached up overhead, curving at the top to make an archway that met just below the ornately painted ceiling. A short red velvet throne, flanked by smaller intricately carved and luxuriously upholstered chairs, was just visible at the far end, but more prominent in the foreground was a small circle of eight chairs, each ornately carved into a fantastic magical animal shape, surrounded by a larger circle of decorative red velvet upholstered chairs, and then a third circle of wooden chairs, still elegant, but much less ornate than the inner rings.

The regal personage led Shaun by the hand and sat him next to himself in the innermost circle, motioning for Severus, Albus and Remus to also take seats, leaving only three more seats which were claimed by equally old and stooped goblins. In a hierarchy known only to the goblins, the rest of the chairs were quickly and reverently filled and all waited expectantly for the oldest goblin to begin. He raised his hands above his head, his robes falling down and exposing massive scars and ridges of flesh down both arms; before he clapped his hands twice together, imperiously.

A younger, more subservient goblin rushed forward and placed a very low carved round table in front of the chief goblin and Shaun. A second servant covered the table with a golden cloth and a third one produced an embossed golden chest, inlaid with jewels and the intricately fashioned form of a golden phoenix upon the table. The three bowed in respect and backed out of the concentric circles, only standing upright and turning after they passed out of the third circle.

The ancient goblin reached for Shaun's left hand and raised it with his right, chanting in gobbledygook, sounding a lot like stones grinding together in agony. He finished a long ritualistic phrase and the two were surrounded by a golden glow, so bright the others looked away to protect their eyes from the brightness. As the glow faded, the goblin spoke for the first time in barely accented English, _"I, Ragnok, Head of the Goblin Nation, Chief Goblin of Gringotts, present to you, the child of prophecy, the child who will save us all, the Golden Child of the Light, the Phoenix Child of Legend!"_ He moved the child's hand, still clasped firmly in his own and brought both of their palms down onto the top of the inlaid chest. The chest shook and emitted the sound of phoenix song for a moment, before opening slowly. Ragnok removed his hand and whispered for Shaun to reach in and take out the cracked and yellowing parchment that was inside the casket, revealing several items still cloaked within the shadow left by the sides of the large box.

Ragnok took the parchment from the child and reverently unrolled it, careful not to damage the most holy of holies of the Goblin peoples. He took several deep breaths before beginning to read, his voice reverent and awestruck.

_**Child of Light, Never Dark **_

_**Born of Woe, Raised in Pain,**_

_**Scarred Forever by Evil's Mark **_

_**Will Lead Us All, the Light will Reign!**_

_**Child of Fire, Creature of Night**_

_**Will gather the forces and lead the fight.**_

_**Goblin, wizard, giant and more **_

_**Surround the child to help the right**_

_**Evil is doomed in its battle with light.**_

_**Bow to the Child, that evil has touched**_

_**Scarred and marked; his soul still pure.**_

_**Forces of light behold the one, **_

_**Born to lead and banish the dark, foretold; take heed**_

_**Or darkness will win.**_

_**Train the infant, encourage the child**_

_**From unloved infant to cherished child to mighty youth**_

_**Join him; follow him, your souls to unite**_

_**He'll banish the darkness and bring forth the light.**_

Ragnok finished reading and looked around at the odd group, everyone looking at him in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, except for Shaun who was busy looking in the box, having climbed down when the old goblin was reading the parchment.

Shaun pulled out a jewel encrusted dagger with an ornate, embossed leather scabbard, a staff that was taller than he was with a huge red ruby embedded in the carved phoenix on the top of the pure white wood, an intricate and yet delicate gold chain with a phoenix in flight grasping an oval shaped emerald in it's talons, and a thick leather bound, hand written journal of some kind.

Severus came back to reality and tried to tell Shaun to return the items to the chest, but Ragnok waved a hand, telling the boy, "Shaun, those things will one day belong to you, but the time is not yet and you need to put them away for later. Grandwhip, would you take the Phoenix Child to my office and give him some tea and cakes. His guardians and I will be there shortly." Grandwhip the goblin, took Shaun by the hand after the child had reluctantly returned the pretty things back into the metal box, and with just a short look at his father and his grandfather to make sure it was all right to go with the funny creature, Shaun let himself be led out of another door that was almost hidden between two of the large pillars by the flickering shadows of the torchlight.

All of the goblins in the second and third circle of chairs stood up and bowing to both the elderly goblins and the wizards that remained in the innermost circle, without saying a word or making a sound other than the clicking tap-tap of their odd pointed shoes; they all exited out of the huge gilded doors, leaving three goblins and three very stunned and bewildered wizards behind in the huge, echoing chamber.

Ragnok looked at each wizard, deciding who he would speak to, he of course had recognized Albus Dumbledore, but the younger, black haired wizard seemed to be most connected with the Phoenix child, so he turned to him and spoke. "That scroll has been handed down, generation to generation, since Gringotts was founded during the time of Merlin. In fact, the scroll is reportedly a prophecy given to the King of the Goblins by Merlin himself in gratitude for their help in banishing the invading hordes that threatened King Arthur. No one has been able to open the casket until today, and no one has known what the scroll said, until today."

"We recognized the Phoenix Child and knew the scroll was written about him and thus we will ally ourselves and our nation with your son, the Phoenix Child. It is not time yet for him to know about himself, but there is a vault, the first vault of Gringotts, fabled to have been enchanted by Merlin himself, that we need to have him visit today to begin his journey. So Gentlemen, if you would accompany me to my office, we will escort him to his vault." He reached in and with a touch so gentle it was reverent, he removed the chain and the phoenix before sealing the casket again and leading the way to the doors through which Shaun had disappeared just fifteen minutes before.

* * *

Severus would have enjoyed the gobsmacked appearance of Albus Dumbledore more if he didn't suspect that he had the exact same expression upon his face as well; he knew that Remus had passed the point of rational thought more than half an hour ago and he knew that he was fast approaching that point himself. He suspected he would have to view the events of this day several times in his pensieve to be able to understand anything of what had occurred on what was supposed to be a simple shopping expedition.

They had joined Shaun in Ragnok's office where he was enjoying a mug of hot chocolate and politely nibbling on ginger biscuits. Ragnok placed the gold chain around the boy's neck before he led them personally down a very short corridor and then through some kind of mystical portal, to wind up instantaneously, deep beneath the street, in the bowels of Gringotts. They had witnessed the truth of the rumors of dragons guarding the depths of the oldest vaults themselves, which had Shaun squealing in excitement as he wanted to go play with them. Ignoring the child, Ragnok had stopped in front of the largest, most ornate vault door that any of them had ever seen, and with a single swipe of his ridiculously long nail, the door had morphed into an archway, still guarded by a small plain wooden door. Ragnok asked Shaun to place his hand on the door where the knob would be, and then he had Severus, Remus and Albus do the same, while stating their full names out loud.

The door had opened to reveal a small chamber, filled with books and odd sparkling ornaments and twirling, clanging and whirling instruments that none of them had any idea of their purpose. Ragnok had directed Shaun to take one small long and thin box, and two books. Then the elderly goblin had firmly shut the door behind them and led them back to his office. Unknown to the four wizards, as they passed through the portal to return to the lobby a burst of white light had painlessly removed their memories of the historical events and replaced it with one of Severus and Shaun finding several items of interest in the Potter vault. They were handed several bags full of galleons, and told to request Griphook personally whenever they returned to the bank. As the entrance doors opened and their eyes adjusted to the bright afternoon sun, a brigade of armed goblins marched back into the bank and business on the Alley began to return to normal.

* * *

After spending an hour in Madame Malkins selecting new clothing for Shaun, Sirius, and Remus, the three wizards and one small boy spent another enjoyable hour browsing the shelves of the bookstore before going to Ollivander's for a wand for Shaun.

Shaun could apparently sense where the old man was and was looking directly at him when Mr. Ollivander appeared suddenly, something that had never occurred before in the long, long history of the shop. Albus just chuckled at the surprise on the old man's face as he said, "Ah, Berke, he spotted you, your disillusionment charm has finally met its match!"

"Mr. Potter? No…it cannot be… he has changed, he is no longer Potter, but…Snape…? His aura is most powerful, Albus, and yet he is so young, too young…but…perhaps…?" the normally unflappable Mr. Ollivander was talking to himself as he ran his hand up and down the myriad of boxes that were crammed into every spare inch of space on the shelves that lined every surface of the walls around him. Shaun was looking around, his eyes even wider than they had been watching the goblins. Shaun closed his eyes, stretched out his hands and glowing briefly; two separate boxes came speeding from the back of the shop, wobbling crazily as if they couldn't wait to reach him. Severus grabbed one box while Remus grabbed the other, preventing them both from hitting the child in the chest. Berke Ollivander just looked on in amazement before returning to his counter, "Ah…yes…well the wand _does_ chose the wizard…but…two? Unusual, most unusual…!"

Severus turned to Albus, "Two wands, Albus; is that even allowed by the Ministry? We had enough difficulty obtaining permission for a single wand at his age, but two?"

Albus and Mr. Ollivander both chuckled, then Berke answered, "The wand chooses the wizard, it is most unusual that two wands would ever chose the same witch or wizard, therefore, there is no law against such an occurrence. And it is fortuitous, is it not, that there is only one space on the form to register his wand signature, the ministry does not recognize the possibility of a second and as such does not make any provision to register it. Now, young man, let's see how these wands suit you, shall we?"

Shaun was encouraged to let go of his Daddy's leg that he was tightly attached to; and reached his right hand out in curiosity for the first wand. As soon as his hand touched the polished end a myriad of gold and red sparks flared out spectacularly. Mr. Ollivander then explained that the phoenix cored, holly wand was a brother to the wand that had given him the scar on his forehead and that it was 'Curious, most curious' that that particular wand had chosen his right hand.

Shaun reached for the other wand with his left hand and a steady stream of multicolored sparks flowed for several minutes, lighting up the small shop like a gigantic Christmas tree with fairy lights. A golden nimbus of light surrounded Shaun's delighted head like a halo as his entire being was flooded with warmth of pure joy and ecstasy. Mr. Ollivander actually stumbled backwards and would have fallen had he not sat heavily on a convenient stool as he remarked, "I have never seen such a positive and powerful response to any wand I have ever sold, and I remember every wand I have ever sold."

Albus' eyes were twinkling at a murderous rate as he asked, "What is the core of that magnificent masterpiece of craftsmanship, Berke?"

Berke took out his own wand and locked the door, drew down the window shades and cast a complicated silencing spell before answering. "That is a wand made by my Great, Great Grandfather, his masterwork; he always claimed that one day a child would be born that could channel the power in that wand. It is the only multiple core wand any Ollivander has ever successfully crafted. It is a nine and a half inch, Rowan wood wand with a core of a phoenix feather, a unicorn hair and a griffin claw, all powerful creatures of the light and incapable of corruption!"

Severus picked up Shaun and sat him on the counter, replacing the two wands back into their boxes, careful to never have them come into contact with each other. "Shaun, would you show Mr. Ollivander how you can make balls?"

Shaun giggled happily as he conjured his normal five balls, then concentrating so hard his forehead was furrowed and he was biting his lower lip, he managed to make a very tiny sixth ball before squealing in excitement and loosing his concentration as all six balls popped like balloons. He scared himself and shimmering softly, he disappeared.

"Shaun, its okay, we aren't mad at you. Please show yourself at once, child." Severus' voice held a mild rebuke in it, but he was obviously not mad, and both Remus and Albus were smiling broadly at his accomplishment, so he shimmered back into view, looking shyly up at Mr. Ollivander through the veil of his long hair. Seeing only excitement and astonishment on the odd face, Shaun lifted his chin and smiled at his Daddy as he threw his arms around the man's neck. "I did six, Daddy; did you see!"

If Mr. Ollivander had been concerned about the power of the second wand overpowering the child, all his doubts were dispelled by the demonstration he had just witnessed. "How old are you, child?" His voice quavered with excitement and astonishment.

"My birthday is in three weeks and I will be five and Daddy and Grandpa say Uncle Moony and the other Professors are going to teach me to do magic when I turn five so I need a wand!" Shaun was still excited and giddy with his new wand and all the unusual excitement of his first ever Diagon Alley trip.

"When? How? Is it possible…" Mr. Ollivander was gobsmacked and incoherent with amazement.

Albus reached over the counter and patted his old friend on the shoulder, "Don't feel bad, he had been surprising and rendering us speechless for the last year. He tells us he first cast lumos and conjured the balls at the age of three. He spent the first few months at Hogwarts invisible and completely soundless to everyone except Severus. We still don't know how he does it; but he can apperate and disapperate within Hogwarts, something that is reputed to be impossible, and still _is_ impossible for everyone else; myself included. We have evidence that he cast silencing and notice me not charms as well before coming to Hogwarts, just a month shy of his fourth birthday."

They had registered only Shaun's normal wand with the Ministry and talked with the old wand maker until he had other customers knock for admittance before finally heading off to buy Shaun his first hot fudge sundae with nuts, whipped cream and a cherry on top. It was definitely the high point of his whole day.

* * *

AN: Sorry, I didn't make it to the Trials; they should make it in the next chapter. I should have it up by the weekend sometime. Thanks for reading and reviewing. 


	9. Chapter 9: Caught

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html (Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.

'_Italics'_ is mental speech.

Chapter 9

Albus was enticing Shaun to try the blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup the next morning when Remus and Sirius entered the Great Hall followed momentarily by Professors Flitwick and McGonagall. Madame Pomfrey had finally left the night before for a short vacation visiting her sister in Australia, entrusting the ongoing rehabilitation of Sirius to Remus with a scroll full of detailed instructions and prohibitions. The two men had rolled their eyes in identical expressions of long suffering tolerance and promised faithfully to follow her decrees to the letter, while actually intending to do the exact opposite if at all possible.

"Ah, Minerva and Filius, good to see you this wonderful morning! We were planning on having young Shaun practice with his wand this morning directly after breakfast. If it would be acceptable to you Filius, we would appreciate the loan of the charms classroom as the wards against accidental magical outbursts there are some of the strongest in the entire castle." Albus looked remarkably like a child in Honeydukes as he anticipated the boy's excitement and finding out his abilities with using a wand for the first time. It had been over one hundred and fifty years since he had first experienced the inner glow and sense of power and peace with his own first wand but he remembered it clearly and fondly.

It was an impossibility to decide which of the two professors looked more excited at the anticipation of exploring Shaun's magical potential for the first time. They had both volunteered to remain within the castle for most of the remainder of the summer in anticipation of participating in Shaun's beginning magical education with great eagerness, so they both rushed to fill their plates and finish eating. It was barely thirty minutes later when the entire population of the castle, at least the witch and wizard portion of it, trouped out of the Great Hall and up the changing staircases to Professor Flitwick's classroom.

Just after they left a single brown barn owl swooped into the now empty Great Hall and dropped the morning edition of the Daily Prophet on the now deserted head table and without missing a stroke of its wings, rose swiftly and surely out of the windows, high above the floor, and out into the sparkling summer morning. A single headline could be read on the tightly rolled newspaper, **_Pettigrew Receives Kiss Today! Will Malfoy Follow?_**

* * *

With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore cleared all the desks and chairs out of the way, leaving a large open area down the middle of the large classroom. Severus put Shaun down on the floor and pulled his wand out of a box that he had tucked into a special wand pocket on the inside of his robes. He had explained the night before about being careful not to point his wand at anyone until he had learned to control it and to be very careful not to break it because it would be very difficult to replace. He had given him his second wand, saving the less powerful wand for after Shaun had learned to control his magic, they were most interested today in finding out exactly how powerful Shaun was so he would first be tested with his unusually cored rowan wood wand first.

Everyone stood carefully behind Shaun as he turned to look over his shoulder at Severus and asked, "What do I do now Daddy?" Severus smiled at the trust and love evident in his son's eager smiling face.

Severus knelt beside his son, and wrapping his elegant fingers around the small hand clutching the wand, he helped him point it straight up and whispered into Shaun's ear, "Say Lumos!" and the end should light up for you. Give it a try son, and remember, I will always be proud of you." He kissed the baby soft cheek as he moved his head away from the small ear and waited.

Shaun was nervous and barely managed a tiny whisper, "Lumos" but it was enough. The end of his wand lit up with a brilliant white light, so intense Shaun involuntarily dropped the wand as if it was a burning branch and turned to bury his head in his daddy's frock coat in surprised terror. Severus' arms came up without him even thinking about it and began to rub the shaking child's back as he rocked gently back and forth in a soothing rhythm.

Severus looked over the top of the small black haired child and smiled ruefully at Albus, "Perhaps we should start with the less powerful wand for now, don't you think?"

Albus nodded as Professors Flitwick and McGonagall, Remus and Sirius had varying expressions of stunned surprise on their faces. Sirius looked the most startled, he had, after all, had far less time to become accustomed to the boy's unusual power. He really hadn't believed Remus' tales of the boy's astonishing accomplishments, he had thought Remus was exaggerating out of pride in the boy or to make the story more entertaining to his virtually bedridden friend, but they must all be true!

Severus picked up the rowan wand and replaced it in its box before drawing out the other box and handing the less powerful eleven inch holly and phoenix feather wand, and handing it to Shaun; who grabbed it in his still slightly shaking right hand. Severus held onto his son's shoulders as he squatted behind him, a knee sticking out on either side of the boy as he held him close to his chest in support.

Shaun's voice was even softer as he said, "Lumos" once more. This time a very respectable amount of light flared from the end of the wand clutched in the small sweaty palm, but no more than most students would be capable of producing. Shaun smiled at the group that was clapping for him and said, "Look, I can do it this way to!" Without saying a single word, the end of the wand in his right hand flared again, but so to did the fingers in his wandless left hand. The incantation and wand effect was produced identically without either being used.

Tiny Professor Flitwick was squeaking in excitement as he encouraged, "Try Wingardium Leviosa, while doing this swish and flick movement with your wand, Shaun!" as he demonstrated with his own wand aimed at a small feather that he conjured onto the floor in front of the two Snapes. "Just go ahead when you're ready, child" he encouraged.

Shaun looked over his shoulder at his smiling and proud father, biting his lip as he thought about the wand movement and incantation Professor Flitwick had suggested. He pointed his wand carefully, and with a much more confident voice, said, "Wingardium Leviosa!" and the quill lifted gently to hover about three feet off the uneven stone floor. He looked over his shoulder at his 'family' that stood proudly behind him and lifted his left hand, pointed his finger and the quill turned blue. He giggled and lowered the now florescent blue quill carefully back to rest on the floor. He turned in his daddy's encircled arms and threw his arms around the man's neck and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"Are you tired, son? Do you want to stop now or do you want to try something else?" Severus was gently 'reading' the boy's mind, trying to discern how the boy reacted to consciously using magic with a wand for a focus rather than his normal wandless manner.

At the boy's quick, "More things Daddy!" he turned and looked deliberately at Minerva to begin testing the boy's skill at beginning transfigurations.

Minerva retrieved a couple of desks and chairs with a quick flick of her wand and a barely heard mutter of incantation. She sat Shaun down at a desk and moved a chair in front so that she was sitting very close to him on the other side of it. "Okay, Shaun, I need you to change the matchstick in front of you into a needle. Picture in your mind clearly what you want to transfigure, a long, slender, metal needle. Sharp on one end, rounded with an eye on the other, and then point your wand, jab it sharply and say, clearly, "Transmogrify!" She leaned back, arms clasped together over her chest and nodded at the boy who had 'adopted' her as a grandmother sometime during the last year.

She would never admit it, but she had come to love the boy and was almost as proud of the child as his own father.

Shaun sat on the chair, his legs unconsciously swinging since they hung over the edge of the chair, reaching only halfway to the ground. He was seated enough forward that his knees could bend over the seat edge. He couldn't touch the back of the seat and still bend his knees, so he chose to sit perched on the front of the uncomfortable wooden, student's chair. His long hair had come loose from the silk tie his daddy had fixed it in that morning; he bowed his head, covering his face in a veil of softly falling black hair. He concentrated on what his grandmother had instructed and raised his new wand. He poked at it with the wand while whispering the incantation but nothing happened! He bit at his lower lip in concentration as grandma talked to him, softly encouraging him as she described how to picture the needle clearly in his mind and telling him that no one, not even his daddy, got it right the first time.

He smiled shyly at the prim woman sitting across the desk from him and tried again. It took quite a few tries but he finally managed a vague, needle shaped piece of metal from the matchstick. He picked up his head and looked at his daddy and the others, grinning widely at the looks of pride and encouragement from all of the adults sitting in chairs around him.

"Good job, Shaun. That was excellent, child. I suspect that you are a little bit tired now, so why don't we stop for today; perhaps your father or Remus would take you flying outside in this glorious sunshine for a bit before lunch. Would you like that?" Albus had just offered the boy's absolutely favorite pastime as a reward for a job well done.

Severus ruffled the eagerly bobbing head that had popped up beside him. "Perhaps, Uncle Moony would take you outside if Sirius would keep watch for stray bludgers or other hazards? I really need to work on identifying the components of that Wolfsbane before they degrade and we never find out what happened." He looked pointedly at his mentor as he talked about the bludger. Albus nodded and offered, "I have some paperwork that I must read, but I would enjoy the sunshine and could, perhaps, sit beside Sirius in the pitch and help watch?" He knew that Sirius would be diligent about watching out for his godson but he still had no wand and there was little he could actually do in the event of an attack except warn Albus so that the old wizard could deflect any trouble.

Severus looked relieved at the powerful wizard's suggestion and nodded his agreement before leaning over to talk to his son, "Shaun, you must do exactly as Uncle Moony says, remember last time with the ball hitting you and making you almost fall off? So if Uncle Moony says you must stop I don't want to hear any whining or complaining, understood, brat?"

With a finger stuck in the side of his mouth, Shaun looked at the floor, scuffing the side of his shoe as he nodded in understanding. He looked up, giving his daddy his best innocent look as he asked, "Can I go flying Daddy; can I, please?" His daddy couldn't resist laughing at the blatant manipulation his son was trying.

"That isn't very convincing, Shaun. I know you too well to believe that innocent look, but yes you may go flying. Enjoy yourself, child, but be sure to mind Uncle Moony and Grandpa and even Black!" He ruffled the boy's already messy black hair and turned with a swoop of dark green robes and swept out of the room, his robes billowing impressively behind him. Sirius shook his head in amazement, "Sure wish I knew how he made his robes do that!" The others in the room laughed before everyone left to find their own activities for the remainder of the morning. Albus stopped Remus long enough to tell him he would meet them down at the entrance in a few minutes and to please wait for him to arrive before leaving the safety of the castle.

* * *

Severus' mind was already traveling in nine different directions as he tried once more to solve the maddening puzzle of the unknown ingredient in the Wolfsbane potion from last week. 'What could it be, everything else has been eliminated. It appears to be a fine powder, very light grey in color, but I've never seen anything remotely like it before. Maybe if I check every ingredient container in the storeroom, I can find out where it came from. My lab is warded against intruders and who would _break in_ to **add **a beneficial ingredient?' His steps had led him unerringly to the door to his storeroom as he mused, totally oblivious to his surroundings once he had reached the door to his quarters, something he _never_ did thanks to his many years as a successful spy for the light against the dark lord.

He methodically pulled down every ingredient he used in the complicated Wolfsbane potion that he had invented just last year. He even pulled out his meticulous notes to make sure he hadn't overlooked anything, even though he knew without a doubt that he hadn't. He checked each ingredient in its container, by sight, smell, feel, and sometimes even taste to make sure that the ingredient exactly matched its label. After an hour, he had isolated the contaminated salamander ash. 'This is obviously not the dark grey, acidic and bitter salamander ash. Its light grey, almost white, it's neutral in base, very fine, and totally unrecognizable. What could it be and how did it come to be labeled as salamander ash?' He pulled out the other large clear container of salamander ash and compared the two intently focusing on the differences between the two.

He carefully wrapped the two identical containers that contained such radically different ingredients and placed them into a satchel to protect them as he carried them. He didn't even want to shrink the unknown element for fear of somehow damaging it in some way. He walked briskly up to the entrance hall and out into the bright blue of the warm summer morning, shielding his eyes against the overwhelming brightness after the dark shadows of the castle. He let his son's excited squeals of delight lead him to the Quidditch pitch where he found Albus reading distractedly as he was continuously turning his attention to the small boy's obviously delighted flying on the front of Remus' broom; rather than actually reading the boring parchments from the Ministry. Shaun could be heard shouting encouragement to the somewhat reluctant Uncle Moony to "Go faster, Uncle Moony, faster!" and "Higher, higher!" which the more hesitant flyer refused to follow.

Severus was reluctantly forced to admit that Sirius took his job of watching for hazards quite seriously as the man was continuously looking around between the open areas around the pitch to the deep shadows of the Forbidden Forest. He would only glance quickly up in the air; smile broadly at the two flyers before returning his attention to his careful watch. Even Severus' arrival and quiet conversation with Albus failed to divert his attention from his duty. He had just nodded once in acknowledgement of the other's arrival and turned back to watching the forest and the shadowy area around Hagrid's hut.

Severus pulled the two large clear glass containers out of his satchel as if he was removing a muggle bomb and showed them to the Headmaster. "This is the only discrepancy I have been able to find and I must admit I am baffled. I have never seen this ingredient and none of my references have had any potion ingredient that remotely resembles its characteristics. The label is identical and reveals no tampering or discrepancies in the glue from the others. It is clearly from my regular supplier, so with your permission, Albus, I will travel to Diagon Alley to check his stores to ascertain if he has any more contaminated salamander ash containers. If he does, I will purchase every bit he has in stock for the Wolfsbane. I will also have him contact his supplier to ship any more he has available, if any."

"Excellent, Severus, we must find out what this miracle ingredient is to supply as many afflicted individuals as possible. It might be possible to 'cure' lycanthropy! My, my, just the thought of releasing those poor people from that terrible affliction is overwhelming. Make haste, but be careful as we haven't ascertained if the attack last week was against you or Shaun. I would not like to have to explain to Shaun that his daddy is injured. That young man might level the entire castle accidentally if his daddy was hurt!" He chuckled but there was a grain of truth in his fears that both men acknowledged ruefully.

Severus waved his arm and caught Remus and Shaun's attention. When they hovered in front of the section the three wizards occupied, Severus quickly and calmly explained to his son that he was going to Diagon Alley to purchase some potions ingredients, and that he should be back before supper. Shaun just waved and yelled, "Bye Daddy, see you later" before encouraging the rapidly tiring former werewolf to fly more.

Albus looked at the flagging man and clapped his hands together, announcing "Lunch" to the relief of Remus and the disappointment of Shaun who knew he would have to take a much hated nap after eating. He reluctantly climbed off the broom, but his good mood returned as he was thrown over his grandfather's shoulder and tickled on his ribs. Still giggling as he was released, he ran for the doors as the adults followed at a much more sedate pace, laughing at the exuberance and energy of youth.

* * *

Sirius sat at the head table, lost in thought and unaware that his friend had been calling his name in concern for several minutes. Sirius finally roused himself enough to hand the opened copy of the Daily Prophet to his fellow Marauder and wordlessly dish up some ham and potato pie, which he proceeded to move absentmindedly around on his plate, never actually tasting the food. Remus read the article quickly and dropped it onto his own empty plate, reaching out and grabbing his slowly recovering friend tightly as the two held on to each other, shaking in suppressed emotions and renewed feelings of betrayal and loss. Shaun slipped out of his chair on the other side of his grandfather and climbed up to stand between the two men, one foot on each man's lap, an arm around each neck as he buried his face in both of theirs. His natural empathy swelled outward to offer comfort and healing to the two hurting men. The three hugged tightly for several minutes until Remus pulled away, leaving Shaun on Sirius' lap. "Its okay, Uncle Padfoot, its okay, Daddy will keep you safe." Shaun was patting the still shocked man with his small, soft hands just like his daddy patted him when he was upset.

Sirius returned to reality, took a look at who was comforting him and grabbed him tightly, letting go all of his grief and pain that three and a half years in Azkaban had kept him from releasing. Albus carefully removed the now very upset small boy and Remus grabbed his childhood friend and they both stood, holding on to each other as they made their way back to Remus' quarters to recover from their emotional overload at the news that Pettigrew had been kissed. Albus held Shaun to his chest, murmuring encouragements as he carried the boy out the back door of the Great Hall and down to his quarters. He stopped only long enough to fetch a calming potion before settling into the rocking chair in Shaun's bedroom and rocked the boy until only the occasional hitch in his even breathing was left before he fell into a deep healing sleep.

* * *

Severus waited impatiently as the owner of Thatcher's Apothecary finished helping a stooped green skinned hag with choosing the best pickled bats wings in the large jar of yellowish liquid. It didn't show on his stoic face and his tightly controlled stance, but he was almost ready to bounce like Shaun did when he was agitated. He had checked the shelves and the five large containers and numerous smaller ones all contained the proper dark, coarse and gritty salamander ash that their labels proclaimed. Not one blasted container had the distinctive look of the one in his satchel. 'I hope there are other containers in the back and he hasn't sold all the contaminated ones he had!' Severus' expression darkened at the thought and several prospective customers took one look at the scowling, intimidating figure in the small shop and decided to return later to make their purchases.

Mr. Thatcher had finally concluded the old hag's minor purchases and hurried over to the potion's master. He was very familiar with the persnickety quality the man demanded in his potions ingredients and his bristly personality, but he was such a good and steady customer, plus the orders that the man made as the primary purchaser for not only all potions ingredients for Hogwarts but also all ready made potions and supplies for the hospital wing made him the single biggest customer that the apothecary had, so it was well worth keeping the man happy. He was wringing his hands together in worry, Professor Snape's agitation and impatience was almost palpable in the small, cramped shop.

"Most sorry, Professor Snape, for having you wait but my assistant is out of the shop at the moment and I was unable to assist you immediately as I would have liked." The shopkeeper's servile manner and ingratiating speech annoyed Severus at the best of times and today he was almost unwilling to accommodate the obnoxious man, almost, but not quite. He really needed the man's supply of this mysterious grey powder if he was to brew much more of the miraculous werewolves' potion.

"Mr. Thatcher, I received this container that is clearly labeled salamander ash and yet as you can see, it is not. I have found a use for this ingredient, which I am afraid to say I do not recognize, and I was wondering if, perhaps, you had more jars of this ingredient in your back storage room?" Severus was trying to be polite and courteous to the leech, but it was requiring all of his skills as a former spy not to just stun the man and go search all of the shelves and boxes in the back himself!

The pharmacist took the two containers and examined them by holding them up to the meager sunlight that managed to filter through the dingy and dirty shop windows. "Ah, Professor Snape, I can't say that I recognize this ingredient either. It's clearly not salamander ash, and I don't recall seeing any similar containers in the back but if you would like to join me, we can check all of my stores. In fact, I just received a large shipment from this producer in anticipation of the start of the new term at Hogwarts and all the students who will be purchasing their supplies during the next month." He had handed the jar back to Severus who had carefully returned it to his satchel before following the chattering, highly nervous chemist to his back room.

The shopkeeper had been forced to leave Severus searching through still crated cartons of supplies frequently as he took care of a multitude of customers; but Severus worked diligently and tirelessly, but all for naught as he finished the last full crate without a single matching container to be found. Severus slumped to a chair in defeat, running his hands through his long stringy hair. His disappointment and discouragement appeared on his stoic face as anger to the now stuttering chemist, "I can contact that supplier and have him investigate his supplies and whomever he purchased his raw ingredients from if you would like, Professor. He is a very meticulous individual who specializes in only a few ingredients and usually harvests them personally. He is also very good at returning owls promptly so I could have an answer back for you in just a couple of days. Am I correct that you are interested in purchasing more of … whatever that powder is…if he has more?" The man's twisting hands and unconscious cracking of his knuckles was beginning to fray Severus' nerves even more than his frustration at not finding more of the mysterious powder. He just nodded curtly and left the dark, smelly shop, his robes billowing menacingly behind him.

* * *

Albus was reading the Daily Prophet as Severus slunk into his quarters later, defeat apparent in the slump of his normally squared shoulders. He dropped heavily into his favorite armchair and wordlessly accepted the cup of hot tea the headmaster held out for him. "I take it you had no luck, Severus?"

Blowing across the tea to cool it, he took a deep drink, shaking his head in frustration. "No, and Thatcher didn't recognize what it was either. He is contacting his supplier to find out if he knows what it is, I should have an owl in a couple of days. But…"

"But…" Albus encouraged.

"But if he doesn't recognize it I have no further ideas on how to find out what it is! It matches nothing in any formulary of ingredients that I have or have even heard of! It's obviously of animal origin, but what animal….and how did it get into my storeroom…and why?" Severus was clearly stumped and frustrated.

Albus steepled his fingers, dropping his chin into his hands, his arms propped on the arms of the chair he was sitting in as he contemplated the problem. Thinking aloud he mused, "It's obviously not one of your _former colleagues_, they would hardly leave a beneficial ingredient, poison maybe, explosive surely, but not something like this." The two sat quietly for a couple of minutes, each deep in their own thoughts.

Severus spoke softly, trying to logically solve their dilemma, "So who has access to my lab, that wouldn't set off the alarms…who we haven't talked to about this…who would replace salamander ash with some unknown ash…because…" he looked up at the old headmaster at the exact same moment the headmaster lifted his own head. Blue eyes met black ones as they said simultaneously, "**_SHAUN!_**"

* * *

AN: Sorry for the short chapter, but I have been sick this week, just asthma but it makes it hard to think straight. And I was busy with my daughter getting a homepage set up with downloadable PDF, e-book and mobipocket copies of Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power and Snape's Invisible Friend. There is also a poll question on the site about whether or not you would like an epilogue or short sequel to the Guardians' story. So read and review and keep me happy and typing! 


	10. Chapter 10: Lessons Begin

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html (Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.

AN: To download any of my stories, click on my author name at the top of this page and then click on homepage. You may read messages, leave messages, and take the poll without signing in, but you must sign into Yahoo to download the stories. In the sidebar that says members only, just click on files and it will lead you to all three stories, each available in PDF, e-book and mobipocket formats. Enjoy and please review!

'_Italics'_ is mental speech.

From Chapter 9:

_Albus steepled his fingers, dropping his chin into his hands, his arms propped on the arms of the chair he was sitting in as he contemplated the problem. Thinking aloud he mused, "It's obviously not one of your _former colleagues_, they would hardly leave a beneficial ingredient, poison maybe, explosive surely, but not something like this." The two sat quietly for a couple of minutes, each deep in their own thoughts._

_Severus spoke softly, trying to logically solve their dilemma, "So who has access to my lab, that wouldn't set off the alarms…who we haven't talked to about this…who would replace salamander ash with some unknown ash…because…" he looked up at the old headmaster at the exact same moment the headmaster lifted his own head. Blue eyes met black ones as they said simultaneously, "**SHAUN!**"_

Chapter 10: Lessons Begin

Severus was on his feet and heading for the connecting door to Remus' chambers before he finished speaking. Without bothering to knock, he threw open the heavy oak door, crashing it with a loud bang into the wall behind it, rushing in to find the shocked and stunned faces of Remus and Shaun, busy coloring in a wizarding coloring book with enchanted crayons on the floor together.

Shaun took one look at the red, thunderous face of his father, gave a startled cry of fear and disappeared before Severus could even utter a single word. Remus looked between the irate potions master and the spot where his son had been sitting, before looking up at the Headmaster who had run into the room trying to catch Severus by the arm and spluttering at the man to "Calm down, get under control before you scare the boy!"

Severus stopped, stricken with panic as he collapsed onto the couch, dropping his face into both hands as Remus met Albus' eye and commented, "Too late! What in blazes is going on? Why were you yelling at Shaun?"

The dark haired man just shrugged his shoulders in defeat and refused to answer. Albus reached his side momentarily and drew the man's chin up with one hand. "Why did you react that way when you knew it would terrify your son to be yelled at and to have you running toward him that way? Remember the last time you frightened him so badly? What were you thinking, Severus?" The disappointment and dissatisfaction with the younger man was plain in both his expression and his tone.

Severus heaved a deep sigh of self disgust. "I was just so upset and angry that he had been messing in my potions ingredients, that he would _dare_ to even enter the lab without me, I just lost it." He looked up, a sharp pain in his chest at the disappointment plainly visible in his mentor's face. "I'm sorry, Albus, I have no excuse, but I have been so frustrated trying to find that blasted contaminant and to know that my own son, my son…" His voice trailed off as the magnitude of what he had just done hit him fully. "Nippy!"

Nippy appeared directly in front of the couch, hands on his hips, face screwed up in anger at his master, the tips of his ears reddened with strong emotion. "Nippy has young master in the kitchen. What is you doing to young Master? He is crying and shaking. He is saying "**Daddy hates me**!" and is so frightened we is feeling him _everywhere_ in the castle."

Albus left the now sputtering Master to explain to his irate 'servant' exactly what he had done while he and Remus left abruptly to swiftly traverse the empty corridors down to the kitchen, hopefully to console and reassure one very frightened young boy that he was loved and that his Daddy wouldn't hurt him or send him away.

* * *

Albus stopped for a moment, still angry and disappointed at Severus for the sight that greeted them when they tickled the pear in the painting and quietly entered the Hogwarts' kitchens. A circle of distraught house elves surrounded Ogden, the Hogwarts Head House Elf who was trying to comfort Shaun without much success. The boy was curled into a tiny ball, head buried, knees drawn up and sobbing heartrendingly and muffled into his own chest. His breath was coming in short hitching sounds as a few words were distinguishable in his whimpers of pain and distress. "hates…send me…don't hit me…Daddy….hates…" His ramblings were filled with distress and agony so palpable the air was thick with his emotional backwash.

Albus dropped to his knees and simply drew the boy up onto his lap, still curled into a fetal position. He wrapped him up in his robes and his arms while muttering soothing words at the boy. Remus had dropped in front of the two and added his verbal reassurances as well as patting and rubbing the boy's shoulders and back in comfort and love. Shaun took what seemed to be an eternity to the group huddled around him, but finally he started to uncurl and melt into the embrace of the two men who were holding him. He finally looked up into his Grandfather's face, his breath still hitching with his overwhelming emotions, and managed to gasp out, "Daddy?"

"Shush, child, your Daddy's not really mad at you. He was just upset and forgot to calm down before going into Remus' room. You know how your Daddy likes to yell even when he doesn't mean it, child."

Remus scooped up Shaun out of Albus' arms and the elves helped the elderly wizard to his feet, where he stood swaying and stomping his feet for a moment until the circulation returned to his formerly asleep feet and legs. "I must say, I am getting much too old to sit on these cold floors any more! Now, Shaun, how about if we ask these fine beings for some hot chocolate and biscuits and we will discuss why your Daddy was so upset and angry? Hmm?"

Shaun wiped his tear stained eyes and running nose on his sleeve before Remus could manage to pull a handkerchief out of his pocket and then reached a hand out to his Grandfather to be led over to a table by the smoldering embers of a large cooking fire. The elves gratefully bustled around the kitchen, bringing over three mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows and a platter with enough biscuits for a party of eight. Ogden bowed at the three before waving his arms to encourage the other elves to return to their duties.

Shaun held his large mug in both hands, blowing at the marshmallows to make them sink absentmindedly as his breath finally evened out. He refused to make eye contact with either wizard as they sat, silently gathering their thoughts and wondering exactly how they were going to explain this to an overly emotional and easily terrified boy without sending him back into a full panic attack.

Albus blew across his hot mug and then began, speaking softly and calmly. "Shaun, did you, perhaps, _accidentally_ do something in your Daddy's potions lab that you would like to tell me about? And I assure you, that I am not mad about it, and that your Daddy won't be mad about it once he thinks it through."

Shaun bit his lower lip and looked sideways at his Grandpa, his face half hidden through his long, black hair. "When I was so scared, when Daddy and Mr. Black were in…the hospital ward…you know when..."

"Yes I remember, that was before we knew about your empathy, before you learned to block out all the emotions. I know that you were too upset and scared to be thinking about what you were doing, Shaun. It's okay, we won't be mad at you." Albus reached over and ran a boney hand through the boy's hair, tucking it behind a small ear in encouragement.

"Well, I was so scared, I sort of, just popped, and I didn't mean to! It just happened! I landed on the table in Daddy's lab and a jar fell and it broke on the floor and I didn't mean to, but Daddy was going to be so mad. And he was already so mad, and I was just so scared…I just…sort of…"

Remus caught the boy's eyes and smiled at him, encouragingly. Shaun took a deep breath and pushed out the explanation,

"IfoundanotherjarandfilleditwithashessoDaddywouldn'tfindout."

Albus had tried to follow that incredibly long word, but he had lost it after only several scrunched together syllables. 'What was that, my boy? I'm afraid these old ears didn't quite catch that!"

Remus laughed, "My ears aren't nearly as old as yours Albus, and they didn't catch that either! Shaun, just take a deep breath and repeat that clearly. You won't get in trouble for telling us what happened and I promise that I will explain to your Daddy so you don't get into trouble with him either. I believe it was an accident and we were _all _very upset on that day."

Shaun nodded, took a deep breath; looked directly into Albus' now sparkling blue eyes. "I found another jar and filled it with ashes so Daddy wouldn't find out. He was so angry, and I was so afraid he would be mad…like my uncle used to be…that I just wanted to fix it." He dropped his head, ashamed at what he had done now that he really thought about it. "I didn't ruin his potion did I?" He looked up, frightened once again, "It didn't hurt anybody, what I messed up, did it?"

Albus chuckled while Remus just grinned in excitement, "No, what you did actually turned out very well indeed. In fact, your daddy has been searching for the last week to find out what that ingredient was so that he could buy more and make more potions with it!"

Shaun looked up in wonderment, "But, but, it was just ashes! Nothing special, just ashes from my pocket, I have more in my closet if he wants them."

Albus and Remus shared a startled look over the small head; now busy drinking his chocolate, no longer panicking with fear. He reached out taking several biscuits as the two men held an entirely silent conversation with glances and gestures over the top of his small bowed head.

Albus called over a passing elf, "Twinkles, would you fetch Professor Snape and ask him to join us here in the kitchens. I'm sure he's worried about young Shaun and would like to join us."

The small elf bowed and popped out of sight with a snap of her fingers, reappearing just moments later. "Headmaster, sir, Master Snape is on his way. Shall I fetch more chocolate for Professor Snape, sir?"

"Perhaps tea if you would, Twinkles, and thank you for delivering my message to him."

She nodded and turned away, returning with a tray full of tea things just as Severus entered the kitchen. The tall man stopped hesitantly as he took full notice of the puffy, tear streaked cheeks on his son and the way the boy had his chin buried in his chest in timidity of his father's reaction.

He glided over to the side of the boy, kneeling down to kiss the crown of dark hair before begging for his son's understanding and forgiveness. "I'm so sorry son, I didn't mean to scare you, I just didn't think before yelling. I know I frightened you so much and I didn't mean too. I am so sorry, Shaun, will you forgive me? Remember when I told you I might get angry at something that you did, but I would always love you?" The small head barely nodded before Severus continued, "Well, I love you, Shaun, and I always will. And no matter how _angry_ I get, or how _loud_ I might yell, _I will never, ever hit you_, I promise you!" He stroked the soft, tear streaked cheek with the back of one elegantly long fingered hand as he spoke softly.

With a small cry, Shaun leaped up and threw his arms around his daddy's neck, sobbing into the familiar smelling robes, "I'm sorry, Daddy, I didn't mean to break your jar, and I knew it was expensive and I didn't mean to, Daddy!"

"Shh, its okay, I know it was an accident. I don't know why you were in my lab, but I know you would never break anything in there on purpose. I'm sorry I yelled before I thought it through. Shh, its gong to be all right. I just need to know what you put in that jar, it's very important that we find more of it. It made a potion that will help lots and lots of people like Remus get better." Severus was rubbing Shaun's back while murmuring reassurances into the soft hair of the boy.

"Remus is better? He won't hurt anymore with the full moon?" Shaun had been told a simplified version of Remus' affliction as he had witnessed both his daddy brewing and Remus drinking the Wolfsbane potion each month and had wondered about the illness and injuries his teacher suffered regularly. As an empath, they had not been able to hide the pain of the transformations from the young boy even if he had not been so curious.

"No, whatever was in the jar made my _illness_ go away. I never will be sick with the full moon again! And I have you to thank for that, Shaun." Remus was smiling gently at the still hesitant child.

Severus drew back so that he could now see his son's face as he asked the most important question. "Exactly _what_ was in that jar? And can you show me where you found it?"

All three men let out breaths as Shaun nodded emphatically as he swallowed his bite of chocolate biscuit, "I have more ashes in my pocket in my closet, but Grandpa you have lots of ashes in your office."

Albus' eyes lost their focus as he thought over the boy's revelation. A light of understanding lit up his wrinkled face as he whispered, "Fawkes' ashes, am I correct?"

Shaun just nodded to let his grandfather know his guess was correct as he reached for another chocolate biscuit while the adults were too distracted to realize exactly how many biscuits he had eaten already.

Albus called over Ogden to question him about how the elves disposed of the ashes from the twice yearly burning days of his familiar. "Ogden, do you have any of the ashes left from Fawkes' last burning day? When you clean my office, how do you dispose of them?"

"Oh, no Headmaster, sir; we is not throwing them away! Phoenix ashes is used in house elf healing! We is saving every bit of ashes from Fawkes so if they is needed we is having them." Ogden bowed uncertainly at the sharp gasps from all three of the powerful wizards now looking at him in astonishment.

"How are they used?" Severus almost dropped his tea cup in his excitement. 'How do the elves know about their healing and yet wizards don't?' His mind was racing ahead to several potions that might benefit greatly from the addition of phoenix ashes to them as he listened intently to the explanation from the centuries old elf.

Ogden sat down at the table after Dumbledore insisted and began to explain. "Many Headmasters in the past has had phoenix' as familiars so we is knowing for long, long times that ashes is to be saved and used for powerful healing. We is having a jar of the ashes here in the kitchen for any elf that is being hurt. We is adding a little pinch to a tea or a salve to heal almost anything, sir!" He looked at a couple of the elves that were standing at the ready in case the group needed anything else. He nodded at two of them and snapped his fingers; silently ordered them to bring the jar.

It took two of the larger of the phenomenally strong house elves to drag a huge almost half full glass cylinder across the smooth stone of the kitchen. They wobbled and struggled with the sheer weight of the container that rivaled the size of the huge house point containers in the Great Hall. Severus was actually rubbing his hands together in anticipation of getting his hands on that great a quantity of phoenix ashes. Albus looked stunned at the sheer mass of phoenix ash now available, 'That must be all the ashes from hundreds of burning days! Some of that ash at the bottom of the jar must be hundreds of years old!"

Severus snatched Shaun off of his chair and then sat down again with the boy on his lap, almost crushing the air out of him in his excitement. Remus and Albus turned identical looks on the man who looked as if his wildest dream had just been fulfilled. Severus was asking rapid fire questions at the elf without taking his hungry eyes off of the coveted ashes once. "How much do you add to a healing tea, what kind of salve do you use, is the base steeped or boiled? Do the ashes lose potency as they age or do they become stronger and more potent? What other things can they be used for?"

Albus just started laughing as he picked Shaun off of his father's lap without the man even noticing. Remus shrugged, still chuckling too hard to talk as the three left the kitchens; the potions master and the Head House Elf too deep in a highly technical discussion of the uses and properties of the magical ash to even notice their departure.

* * *

Monday morning found a very excited child holding tightly to his grandfather's hand as he awaited the arrival of his new classmates and their guardians. The Headmaster would be setting up dedicated portkeys back and forth from the castle to their individual houses, but first they had to teach the children how to use, and particularly land safely with a portkey before they could use them.

The Zabini's arrived with Neville and Agnes Longbottom only a few minutes before Oddgard Lovegood and Luna skipped up the path, Luna dressed in neon pink robes with a small swarm of real butterflies dancing around her blonde hair like a small live halo. Madame Bones was dignity personified in her formal robes from the Ministry, Susan walking sedately beside her, the tight clutching of her aunt's hand the only outward sign of the girl's nervousness. The last to arrive were the Abbots and Boots who came together on the Knight bus, a screaming squeal of it's brakes followed by sounds of various curses from the riders who had been thrown unceremoniously onto the floor at it's abrupt stop heralded their arrival at the gates.

Albus Dumbledore greeted the large group and directed all of the adults into the Great Hall for tea and explanations while Remus Lupin and Sirius Black escorted the seven excited children through the Hall and out the small door in the back. A suite of classrooms had been provided only a few steps out of the back of the Great Hall for the new Day School program by the house elves with the castle's unacknowledged assistance.

Albus made sure everyone had tea or coffee to their liking before looking around the large table and nodding in greeting to everyone present. "Good, good, I'm pleased to see all of you here today. I know you agree with me about the necessity to educate our youngsters in the safety of the castle." At the murmur and nods of agreement he continued, "Remus Lupin and Sirius Black have agreed to begin teaching your children in a modified day program. To start, it will be three days a week and will feature the following subjects: Reading, Writing, Math and Simple Herbology. After the beginning of the school year in September, they will add Wizarding Culture and Etiquette, History and Latin. Each day will have some form of physical fitness; including flying lessons, outside if possible, inside if the weather is bad. We will have Professor Kettleburn show them some of the safer creatures from his Care of Magical Creatures classes and Professor Snape will begin to teach the basics of Potions, starting with ingredients and methods of brewing only to start."

He looked around the group, many of whom he had known from the previous battle with the dark lord. He thought for a moment about how he was to phrase this and not scare the parents of these very young children. "As Madame Bones can verify, we have testimony under Veritaserum that Voldemort was not totally destroyed by young Harry Potter and his followers are actively seeking a means to resurrect him. I know that it is only a matter of time before they succeed." He waited for the gasps and loud cries of denial and distress to calm down before proceeding. "What I am going to say to you today must go no further than this room, you must not discuss this with anyone outside the castle, don't even discuss it with each other in any but a tightly secured area." After saying that, he pulled his wand and gestured in a complicated pattern as he spelled the area secure. Just as he finished, Severus Snape entered the room and took the one empty seat still at the table. Albus nodded at the dark haired man in encouragement.

With an angry and completely disgusted expression, Severus began the story. "What has been kept secret for over a year is that Harry Potter has disappeared from a very abusive household and his **_relatives,_** who currently reside in Azkaban, have no idea _how_ or even _when_ he disappeared." Everyone but Madame Bones made sounds of acute distress and outrage that such a thing could happen at all and then to be covered up, it was unacceptable to the people around the table.

Severus took a sip of the strong tea in front of him and waited for the angry outburst to quiet before speaking again. The group went silent almost immediately at the softly spoken silky baritone voice. "What I will tell you is known to only a very few people and I will be …_irate_ …if it ever gets out beyond this group." The soft tones did little to mask the sheer menace and promise of terror if the secret was divulged. "Shaun Snape, my son, …**_is Harry Potter_**."

This time the startled outbursts and bewildered talk took several minutes to quiet as Albus and Severus just sat back calmly drinking their tea and waiting for the babble to stop. Severus steepled his fingers, resting his chin against his two index fingers, as he leaned forward and continued his interrupted explanation. "Suffice it to say, my son arrived in my care in a '**_less than optimal'_** condition!" His meaning was frighteningly clear to the group now leaning forward in anticipation and outrage around the table. "He still has nightmares, he is very fragile to loud noises and being startled in any way. He is _cursed _with an abusive history superimposed upon being a very powerful empath." Gasps of shock as the ramifications of that combination were realized; interrupted him once again.

Severus never raised the volume of his voice as he continued, "Shaun has been able to do deliberate, carefully controlled wandless magic since before he arrived at Hogwarts at the age of _three_. In fact, he apperated himself here from Surrey with broken bones, a concussion, and bleeding from hundreds of cuts by himself." No one even made a sound as the impossibility of that feat was processed by the adults sitting mesmerized by the startlingly confessions of the dark man sitting so calmly telling them things that should be impossible. Several looked at Albus for verification and he just nodded in confirmation, eyes twinkling merrily.

Severus sighed with resolution, he knew it was necessary that his son's future friends and classmates parents knew the whole story but that didn't make it any easier to tell. "He also becomes invisible and completely soundless," he raised a hand to forestall any questions, "We don't _know how_ and all he says is, 'I just want to so I do.'"

"Shaun will be taking lessons from several professors here in the castle in controlling and utilizing his magic. He had been granted permission to have a wand, though to be truthful he really doesn't need one. If your child shows any early abilities, they will be schooled in them as well. And with a daily exposure to the tremendous amounts of magic here in the castle, it is indeed likely that their magic will awaken early as well." Albus had continued the recitation. "Are there any questions, we understand that this has been a great deal to assimilate in a short period of time, but we felt it was necessary for each of you to know what exactly would be happening and why we felt it essential to begin this day program at this time."

The next hour was spent answering questions and clarifying misconceptions until the subject turned to other matters of importance.

Zyphram Zabini turned to Albus and asked, "What about the Malfoy boy, now that his father will most likely be kissed? It might be a chance to turn the boy before his other relatives and his father's _associates_ get a chance to poison the boy's mind?"

Severus looked at Albus who just shrugged, telling the younger man it was his choice. "I don't know if I am willing to have Narcissa Malfoy know the secrets concerning my son at this time. She didn't actively _participate_ in her husband's 'activities' but her true allegiances are unknown at this time. I have no objection to watching and perhaps including him at a later date. But for now, there has already been at least one attempt on my son's life and several on mine for being a spy so I am unwilling to allow Narcissa access to the castle."

Amelia Bones added, "Malfoy's lawyer has been successful in delaying his trial twice already and who knows what that slippery bastard might be able to accomplish. He has spread enough money around the ministry for the last few years, enough so that a conviction is not a certainty yet. We are trying to find the paper trail connecting Malfoy with Fudge, but so far we haven't had much luck. We all know he's been paying Fudge under the table, but proving it is proving hard to do. They are both too slippery to be caught easily!" She almost growled in her frustration.

Talk around the table disintegrated into individual conversations as the elves served lunch and the children returned, full of stories about the fun they had had that morning in their first class, 'How to land with a portkey!' Each child now wore a simple gold pendant of a phoenix in flight on a gold chain around their neck that they would use each morning that they had class.

* * *

_Gringotts Attacked, Theft Foiled_

_In a prepared statement from the Ministry for Magic this morning, it was announced that a break-in at Gringotts bank was attempted last night. The unsuccessful thieves could not be identified from the ashes that remained. It was unclear which vault or vaults were the target but it is known that the lowest level, high security vault level was targeted._

_A Gringotts spokes Goblin said this morning, "Go away, nothing happened and it doesn't concern you anyway!"_

Minerva McGonagall was upset as she perused the headlines of the Daily Prophet, "Albus, do you know what was targeted at Gringotts last night? Whoever tried to break in must have been very desperate, no one has ever successfully broken in past the Goblins."

Albus continued to spread a thick layer of marmalade on his toast, "I suspect it was something that belongs to my old friend Nicolas Flamel, but I cannot be certain of course. Perhaps it is time to remove the item from Gringotts and place it here in the castle for safekeeping. What do you think, Severus?"

"I suspect we will have to eventually, but it would be …premature to remove it at this time, sir. It would not be of any use at this time and the danger to the children doesn't warrant it at this time. I will, of course, keep my ears open to my former associates and let you know if the situation changes." Severus turned to Shaun and placed another pancake on his plate before turning to finish his own meal.

* * *

The seven children were having varying degrees of success with flying lessons, Neville was almost acrophobic in his panic of leaving the ground, while Shaun and Blaise with Luna and Terry flew rings around all the others. The toy brooms had safety charms on them that limited the speed and height that they could be flown at so they eventually managed to get Neville flying on the third lesson.

Shaun led the group in reading, but several of the others were much better in math, and his handwriting was atrocious, until Severus realized he had never chosen which hand to have dominate so his brain was confused as to which hand to use and he had developed no concept of right and left. Albus finally put it together with the boy's history of having either one or the other of his hands or arms hurt; so he had to use whichever one was less injured and had never learned to have a choice in which hand he used.

None of the children had much schooling in any of the other subjects being taught so the group was beginning on an equal footing, but they all enjoyed the lessons and the fun way that both Remus and Sirius taught them.

* * *

_Malfoy Found Dead in Ministry Holding Cells_

_Just one day before his trial was to begin, Lucius Malfoy, age 30, was found to be dead of an unidentified poison in his cell. The Ministry is not releasing information at this time as to whether he was poisoned or committed suicide. Allegations of bribery and coercion amongst the highest officials in the Ministry were to be addressed at his trial, scheduled to have begun tomorrow morning. This reporter cannot help but wonder who benefited most from his untimely death?_

Amelia Bones was ranting in Albus office when Severus knocked to gain admittance. "You sent for me, sir?" He settled into a chair in front of the Headmasters desk, absentmindedly waving away the unspoken offer of a lemon drop. He focused his black eyes on the pacing and ranting women striding up and down in front of the large white marble fireplace.

"That slippery git, we were this close, this close to catching him in the act! One more day, one more question and we would have had that buffoon out of office and behind bars where he belongs!"

The subject of her rant now clear, Severus just nodded and acknowledged, 'Ah, Minister Fudge has eluded consequences yet again, Amelia?"

She stopped pacing and slumped down wearily into the chair beside Severus, giving him a pained expression without saying a word. She then dropped her head against the back of the chair and sighed in frustration.

His silky baritone caught her attention as he almost hissed, "Perhaps not, Amelia, I have a…reliable…source who can place the poison into Fudge's hands. For a price, he will admit to providing it to Fudge who then blackmailed a guard into slipping it into Malfoy's dinner. Are you interested?"

She sat up so quickly she almost flipped herself out of her chair, "Who and what does he want?"

"He wants immunity from prosecution and then he and his…companion…the blackmailed guard, wish to be relocated to Australia. It might help if someone was found to purchase his apothecary shop for a reasonable price so they might have something to begin a new life. Also, the guard's _wife_ will need to be quietly bought off to accept a …divorce."

The cunning calculations going on in Amelia Bone's mind were clearly visible upon her expressive face, her monocle falling unnoticed to her chest as she concentrated. "So, Fudge found a male guard in a …relationship…with a male apothecary and used it to get rid of …a threat… Sounds like pure Fudge, manipulative bastard that he is!"

She tapped her chin with one hand as she spoke, "How about…maybe…a death …or two? Distraught over accusations that a prisoner died under his watch, perhaps a guard would commit suicide, perhaps because he remembered what he did under '_Imperius_'? Would that serve better than a divorce which is public record?"

Severus leaned back, deep in thought as the possibilities flowed back and forth until the matter was decided and he left to make the suggestion to the two men involved.

* * *

_Fudge Arrested in Malfoy's Death_

_Documents released today, implicate former Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge in the poisoning of Lucius Malfoy. The papers, signed under wizard oath before the double suicide of the two men involved prove that Fudge ordered, paid for and then blackmailed a guard into delivering the poison to Malfoy in his holding cell the night before Malfoy was scheduled to begin trial for the murders of James and Lily Potter as well as actively supporting and participating in Death Eater activities as a member of You-Know-Who's Inner Circle._

_Fudge confessed to receiving bribes, withholding information and the murder of Malfoy under Veritaserum before being sentenced to life in Azkaban. He will be tried separately for fourteen separate cases of misuse of power later this month. Fudge also admitted to covering up the probable murder of young Harry Potter by his Uncle and Aunt last year. Muggles Vernon and Petunia Dursley have been in Azkaban since last October on charges of Murdering their three year old nephew and disposing of his body. (See full story of Harry Potter on pages 2-4)_

* * *

Severus and Remus were having a terrible time getting a very excited Shaun to sleep, after all, tomorrow would be his birthday, the very first one he could remember ever celebrating! He was babbling about his party and what presents he might get and whether or not he would get a cake that it was almost two hours after his regular bedtime before the two men could join Albus and Sirius in the living room were a bottle of very good brandy and two more glasses were awaiting their arrival.

Severus dropped down heavily onto the couch next to Albus and gratefully accepted the brandy snifter the other held out to him. "Merlin, I never thought we were going to get him to sleep tonight!"

Remus chuckled as he accepted his own snifter from Sirius, "I still think you should have slipped a sleeping potion in his juice! It would have been much easier on all of us."

The four men sipped their drinks as the talk turned to politics; who the next minister would be and the implications of various candidates, and how Severus' experiments with the Phoenix ashes were coming before the fire burned down to embers and the four turned in to bed before Shaun's big day tomorrow.

* * *

AN: I am open to suggestions for Birthday Presents for the five year old, and don't forget it's Neville's birthday too! Thanks for reading and reviewing. 


	11. Chapter 11: Happy B'day Shaun & Neville

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html (Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.

AN: To download any of my stories, click on my author name at the top of this page and then click on homepage. You may read messages, leave messages, and take the poll without signing in, but you must sign into Yahoo to download the stories. In the sidebar that says members only, just click on files and it will lead you to all three stories, each available in PDF, e-book and mobipocket formats. Enjoy and please review!

'_Italics'_ is mental speech.

Chapter 11: Happy Birthday Shaun and Neville!

Severus Snape had never been a 'morning person'. There was a reason that he used to prowl the deepest, darkest nights handing out detentions and deducting house points with great glee like others would hand out candy at Halloween. He had reasoned that if he was unable to sleep; he might as well indulge in activities that he enjoyed, and he had enjoyed them. But many things in his life had changed drastically just one short year ago, when he had allowed a small, battered and vulnerable child to not only crack the impenetrable walls he had build up over the long years around his heart, but to shatter and then melt them completely. And he usually didn't mind that he had finally realized that it was perfectly acceptable for him to not only _be_ human but to actually _show _humanity and love to another human being.

But some days, particularly early in the morning, he longed to return to the days when no one cared if he was awake, and in fact he sincerely doubted if any one would have actually cared had he perished unknowingly during the night. Well, that was probably unfair, Albus and even Minerva would have cared had he died, but he sincerely doubted that very many others would have given the occurrence more than a passing thought at the annoyance of having to deal with the loss of a potions instructor rather than any grief at the death of the actual person.

But at 5 bloody 30 in the morning on his son's birthday, he longed for the days of just pulling the covers over his head and returning to the unconscious bliss of sleep once more. Especially when that son was bouncing on his stomach and patting his face with small, very cold hands each time his knees made contact with his father's now full bladder. His very full and complaining bladder!

"Ah, brat, what do you think you are doing?" Severus turned over rapidly and pinned his giggling son on the bed, clutching him carefully while not putting too much of his weight on the pajama clad wriggling boy beneath him. He pulled one hand out from under the brat and used it to tickle his ribs unmercifully, making the child squeal even more.

Shaun was trying to talk, but he was giggling and gasping for breath so much, his voice came out in panting squeaks, "Daddy…my…birthday! Breakfast…party…flying…"

Severus stopped tickling enough to glare menacingly at the small boy still wriggling under him, "So you think your being _grounded_ for destroying potions ingredients, being in my lab without permission, and then not _telling _me what happened should be over, do you?"

The child's face fell instantly as he fought to control himself, the small hitches in his breathing the only evidence of his giggles still evident. "Please Daddy, it was an accident. I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Severus let the boy up as he stood beside the bed, wrapping himself in his dark green silk dressing gown and tying the matching fabric belt around his slim waist. "I understand it was an _accident_. You were _grounded_ from flying because you didn't tell me about breaking a jar, and then you tried to hide what you did. You could have harmed someone very badly because I added an unknown ingredient to a very powerful potion. In fact you could have hurt your Uncle Moony very badly, and we are just lucky that it turned out all right. _That_ is why you were grounded, not because you were so scared that you weren't able to control your 'popping' and caused a jar to break. Do you understand?"

Shaun scuffed one toe on the carpet, his head bowed in shame as he seemed to shrink even smaller, "Yes, Daddy, and I am sorry. I won't ever do it again, I promise." He waited, head bowed, fearful of making eye contact even though he had learned over the last year that his daddy would never hit him.

Shaun felt his father's elegant and warm hand reach under his chin and lift his face so that he was meeting him eye to eye. He felt his father's mind gently caress his outer shields, looking for his true feelings and finding genuine remorse and the full understanding of how badly he could have hurt his beloved Uncle Moony, Severus just nodded once and smiled. "Yes, you have learned your lesson, your grounding is over. You may fly later today with your friends if you like." Severus was unprepared, though he should have anticipated his son's reaction, as a small missile flew into his arms and attached itself to his neck, hugging him tightly as Shaun grinned so widely his face looked like it would split in two.

* * *

Breakfast had been dispensed with early and quickly, all the assembled adults smiling and benignly understanding the pleasure of the small child's exuberance and joy. Everyone was so pleased to see Shaun coming out of his shy shell and acting more and more like a 'normal' five year old, if that was _possible_ in Shaun's case. He was so excited about actually having a real birthday party, with cake, presents and guests that he was having trouble talking coherently; his words were tumbling out faster that his mind and tongue could keep straight. But everyone understood and just let him babble, nodding and adding a sound of agreement whenever he seemed to pause for a response.

Madame Hooch had returned from her cousin's house in Italy for the little boy's birthday and she volunteered to take him out to the pitch to fly so that the others could prepare the Great Hall for his party which was scheduled to begin at 11:30 with the arrival of his guests, his classmates and their parents.

* * *

Shaun was flying almost upside down with excitement as he tried to watch the tall iron gates of the Hogwarts' grounds and still catch the large children's snitch that Madame Hooch had given him for Christmas. He spotted Neville arriving with Blaise Zabini and his mother first and called the two boys to come join him flying. They left Mrs. Zabini to make her way up to the castle, pulling her wand out to float two packages behind her like gaily wrapped square balloons. Madame Hooch had charmed the school brooms to act like children's brooms for the day so the two boys gladly grabbed one and pushed off to join their friend in the beautiful Scottish sunshine. The three were playing a game of tag, as they turned around to find Hannah, Terry, Luna and Susan flying up to join them, though it looked like Luna might be too distracted by the glitter of the sunlight on the surface of the lake to actually join in.

The adults had all come outside to enjoy the pure excitement and joy the children were having as they zoomed and swooped with glee, swerving and turning to avoid being caught by Terry, who was currently 'it'. The quiet conversation amongst the spectators sitting comfortably around the Quidditch pitch turned to politics as they kept a careful eye on the young daredevils performing acts of daring in midair.

"We have eleven more warrants out for Death Eaters after the last round of arrests were interrogated. Perhaps we can round them all up by the time they are all questioned with Veritaserum. It was just plain stupid not to allow its use when Harry Potter defeated him four years ago. The Ministry is still running around trying to find some trace of Harry Potter, but they don't even know where to begin!" The group shared a wry smile at their shared knowledge.

Amelia continued, "I for one am just grateful that poor child has a chance at a childhood now, after being brutally orphaned at a year and then being abused and neglected by his so called 'family'. If Cornelius Fudge wasn't already in Azkaban, I would send him there just for what he did to that child!" There were nods of agreement all around the group.

Albus stood up finally, his bright purple robes were embellished with suns and stars that swirled in the sunlight, making everyone's eyes threaten to cross with the glittering movement. He called to the seven rapidly tiring children to come inside for the feast.

"Race you to the broom shed!" yelled Shaun. He was the farthest out from the ramshackle building, but he still managed to beat everyone there, landing perfectly with a grace that would make many an older wizard or witch jealous.

"No fair, you know you can fly better than all of us! I'll race you to the entrance steps!" answered Terry, who being the tallest of the children, had the longest legs and usually beat the rest in foot races. Neville giggled and took off running before the others even realized he had started. He collapsed onto the marble steps, out of breath but still smiling widely because he had won for once.

Minerva was standing like a sentinel in the entrance hall and shooed the still breathless children to the bathrooms to clean up before being allowed into the highly decorated Great Hall. Severus and Minerva had done their best in trying to restrain the somewhat eccentric Headmaster and his zeal for decorating for Shaun's birthday but they had only had limited success. Luna and Susan were first to enter the large chamber and they both stopped, eyes wide, mouths open as they witnessed first hand the decorating efforts of one of the most powerful wizards of the century's zeal for tasteless and over the top decorations.

Albus had transformed the entire Great Hall into a magical jungle, complete with hanging vines, exotic birds calling from the weird trees lining the walls and meeting overhead to form a canopy of glistening greenery, and even several spider monkeys swinging from the vines and throwing leaves at the frantic house elves who were vainly trying to protect the buffet table from the out of control wildlife swinging and flying at the dishes of food.

Terry and Neville pushed the two girls out of the way and then stopped themselves in wonder. Neville rushed over to a flowering plant, leaning down to sniff deeply as he demanded to know the name and specifics of its growing cycle from his Grandmother.

Shaun swung his leg over the broom he was still carrying and flew up to perch in a gigantic palm tree, trying to pull loose a coconut almost as big as his head. He was joined almost instantly by two spider monkeys, shrieking and jabbering at him to leave their territory! As he continued to ignore their shrieks, another monkey leaped onto the back of his broom and wrestled the broomstick from the small boy, dropping the broom down on the head of Severus who had been standing directly under the melee, yelling at Shaun to "Come down here, right this instant young man!"

The broomstick nailed the man on the top of the head; he collapsed in a boneless crumple onto the stone floor. Shaun screamed, "Daddy!" then popped out of sight and reappeared beside his father on the floor, crying loudly as he laid his head down on his daddy's chest and sobbed, "Wake up Daddy, please, please!"

Luna had clutched her father's deep blue robes, her slightly bugged out eyes wet with unshed tears; Susan had run to hide under a table with Terry and Neville. Blaise was trying unsuccessfully to be brave and had walked stiffly over to his mother before breaking down into quiet shuddering sobs. The house elves had joined the shrieking monkeys, the shrill birds and the sobbing children in the overwhelming cacophony that echoed off the walls and made everyone's ears ring.

Albus withered under McGonagall's unspoken 'I told you so!' and waved his wand, removing the birds, the monkeys and a good portion of the shrubbery from the room. Madame Pomfrey had revived Severus and healed his profusely bleeding scalp wound with a complicated wave of her wand. She made him sit on the floor for several minutes to let the potion for his mild concussion work, so he cradled his sobbing son on his lap, glaring at Dumbledore; his black eyes piercing and half lidded in his outrage.

Remus and Sirius were standing off to one side, laughing so hard they had to cling to each other to remain standing, while the rest of the staff were making strange expressions as they tried to contain their own mirth. Albus looked around sheepishly as the situation with the children was calmed by each parent in their own way. "Oops?" he muttered, his cheeks sporting matching pink spots of embarrassment, something no one could ever recall seeing before on the ancient wizard. Filius just chuckled softly, fingers nimbly snapping picture after picture on the wizard's camera he had borrowed from Minerva for the occasion.

Ogden turned a sorrowful but chastising glare of his large round eyes before snapping his fingers to return order to the buffet table, it's unappetizing mess returning to a much more palatable array in a single flare of house elf magic before he snapped his fingers once again and the small army of house elves disappeared back to the kitchens.

Mrs. Longbottom had collapsed onto one of the comfortable chairs that circled a modestly decorated table and laughed so hard, tears streamed down her parched and wrinkled cheeks. "Oh Albus, you certainly know how to make a child's birthday memorable! I haven't laughed so hard in years."

Everyone else gave up the fight after that and joined her in peals of laughter, even the children doubled over in glee after their scare and lunch finally progressed without further incident.

* * *

After barely making a small dent in the massive chocolate and raspberry confection that masqueraded as a three foot tall birthday cake, the two birthday boys began opening presents as the adults sat back, so full they could do little except watch and try to stay awake.

Neville and Shaun each received an assortment of art supplies from Minerva, wizard card games from Luna and her father, miniature Quidditch outfits from the professors and a variety of other toys too numerous to mention. Neville received a tabletop greenhouse from Professor Sprout and an invitation to spend several afternoons during the summer to come and visit her greenhouses.

Shaun was much more interested in the new potions kit from his father and a new broom from Sirius and Uncle Moony to replace his toddler one. Severus had finally agreed the boy could handle a broom meant for older children, especially as both of the men had promised to supervise him whenever he rode it. Albus had given each of the boys a large box filled with sweets from Honeyduke's and they each received an assortment of books that met their individual interests and reading capabilities. Shaun wasn't impressed overly much with the large box of clothes his father gave him, much preferring his other presents. Finally there were only two boxes left and they were both for Shaun, one unmarked and the other large, flat box from the house elves of Hogwarts.

He looked over his shoulder curiously at his father as he removed the ribbon from that one. He froze, a tear showing in the corner of his eye as he reached in and pulled out a small blue blanket, lovingly cleaned and repaired by the elves just for him! Severus stood up beside him and pulled him close to his chest with an arm around his shoulder.

"What is it, Shaun?" Shaun was unable to talk as he pulled out an old baby blanket, the initials HJP lovingly embroidered on one corner. Shaun gulped a breath and whispered to the man standing in support at his side, "It's the blanket from my Mum and Daddy James. I thought it was lost after I came here to live with you, but here it is!" He buried his face in the blanket, memories of his life before his aunt and uncles beginning to surface in the familiar feel of his baby blanket, his 'lovey'. Severus turned him around, enfolding him into his arms, loving the feel of the boy snuggling deeply into his robes as he carded his fingers through the shoulder length messy black hair in comfort and love.

Talk had softly started among the guests as they let the two share such a precious moment together before Shaun rubbed his tear streaked face on his father's chest and turned around to face the group once again. Severus patted him on the back and squeezed his shoulder before returning to his seat a short distance away from the boy and his mound of presents and even taller pile of shredded wrapping paper.

Shaun picked up the last golden box; its elegant red ribbon and oversized bow making it look like a present for a wife or girlfriend rather than a five year old boy. He raised an eyebrow at the adults watching him, shrugged his shoulders and pulled of the ribbon without untying it. The long flat box seemed familiar to Severus but he couldn't remember clearly where he had seen it before. He looked over at Albus and recognized the same quizzical expression on the Headmaster.

Shaun wiggled the box one side and then the other to open the tightly fitting lid, finally raising it enough to open the box only to find a long carved wooden box cradled inside. He looked it over but could find no catch, just a deeply engraved carving of a phoenix in flight over an unknown castle. He couldn't help himself, he gently touched the bright green emeralds of the phoenix' eyes and the box sprang open by itself to reveal a long golden band embellished with runes separated by square cut rubies. Before anyone could say a word, Shaun touched a tentative finger onto a sharply engraved rune and a flash blinded all those witnessing his opening of the present.

Severus was out of his seat and across the distance to catch Shaun as he fell unconscious, the band of gold and rubies now encircling his small neck. Albus was almost as fast and knelt beside the two as Severus gently laid his son down onto the stone floor, madly searching for the clasp to remove the torque now firmly attached around his son's neck. He looked up at Albus in astonishment, "There is no break, it is a continuous circle around his neck."

Albus looked over the table at the others, still frozen in shock and seeing spots. "Filius if you and Elvira would look at the runes and tell us what they might mean?" As the charms and ancient runes professors, the two had the best training to understand the deeply engraved runes that now encircled Shaun's neck in a wide golden band.

Shaun was waking up as Poppy pushed a potion into his father's hands to feed to him and the two professors made their way around the table to try to translate the engravings. Severus had allowed Shaun up enough to sit on his lap as the two conversed fervently and excitedly back and forth. Severus understood about every third word and would have sworn they were speaking in a foreign language except that he did understand the non-technical portions of their discussion. The other children had been distracted in a game of exploding snap at another table with Sirius and Remus before the two academicians came to any conclusion.

Elvira Ogam, the ancient runes professor, sat back, a look of smug satisfaction on her lined face, absentmindedly pushing a strand of stringy grey hair behind her ear as she looked between Albus and Severus, unsure who she should be directing her findings to. Severus lost his patience; he had been waiting for over twenty minutes to find out what was now seemingly permanently attached to his son. "Blast it, woman, what do they mean and how do we get this bloody thing off of his neck!" he snarled at the silent and nervously fidgeting woman.

"Now Severus, I am sure Elvira will be telling us and badgering her will not help her translate the runes any faster or better, child." Albus was just as anxious; he just had many more years of experience at waiting patiently without showing his impatience.

Elvira took a deep breath and began, "The runes are not harmful and in fact are highly protective in nature. It is very ancient, perhaps predating the founding of Hogwarts itself. They strengthen the wearer, impart him with control over his power, guard against mental attack and declare his magical heritage as the heir of Merlin himself. At least I think that's what the last one means, it could mean the apprentice of Merlin also, but since Merlin is dead, I think it means the heir." She sat back smugly and lifted her cup of tea to drink, reveling in the gobsmacked faces of the others sitting at the table. "And there is no way to remove it, it chose him and only the magic itself can choose to leave him." She waved her wand to reheat her now stone cold tea and continued to drink it serenely as all hell broke out around her.

Severus turned to stare at Filius who just shrugged and nodded in agreement to her assessment of the meaning of the runes. Shaun fidgeted on his daddy's lap, wanting to climb down and go play exploding snap with the others rather than listen to the boring talk of the grownups around him; he didn't understand anything they were saying. The gold band felt good, it made him all warm and safe feeling, he could no longer feel the overpowering emotions of the others and he knew that deep within his mind there was now another, someone who could help him always and who loved him just like his daddy did. He didn't know who that someone was or how he had got into his head, but he didn't mind him being there.

Shaun wiggled some more and his father distractedly allowed him to climb down, still too engrossed in the conversation flowing, or rather the arguments being thrown back and forth, to notice his son leaving his lap. Shaun stopped long enough to look back into the wooden box. He reached in and pulled out a long silver whistle, which he placed to his lips and blew once without any sound coming out. He shrugged his shoulders and dropped the whistle back into the box before skipping over to join the other children.

He made no more than five or six hopping jumps towards them before a flash of blue white light again blinded the entire hall. A red and gold fireball quickly appeared beside the blue and white one and the glorious sound of a phoenix duet echoed around the castle, the very wards in the air shimmered with the power and joy of the two.

"I have waited so long for you to return to me; my love." Fawkes was beside himself with ecstasy, the very air exploding with his joyful song. The light dissolved into the vision of a glorious white phoenix, its wings and tail feathers edged with blue so dark it shone black except where the sunlight hit it. Its emerald eyes glowed with a green fire; the intelligence and love shining so bright, they almost glowed. The two magnificent birds perched on the back of a tall chair, rubbing their necks together as they preened each other's feathers in adoration and renewal of mutual love.

Shaun stopped his skipping steps toward the other children and climbed up onto the chair, kneeling backward on the seat so he faced the two perched on the back. He reached up his hands, one small, soft palm stroking the cheek of each large swan like bird in awe. The two birds stopped preening and each leaned a long neck forward to rub against the boy's hair, their sharp beaks gently combing his messy raven locks in equal strokes of adoration.

Fawkes opened his glorious beak and trilled a song of love and glory tinged with the sorrow and heartbreak of long separation and longing. The white phoenix hopped forward, grasped the shoulder of the small boy sitting looking at it with trust and faith. Another flash of bluish white light and everyone bent their heads, unconsciously shielding their eyes with their hands. When the light faded and the spots on their retinas eased, the boy and the phoenix were gone and only the mournful song of Fawkes as he sadly trilled from the back of the chair remained behind.

* * *

AN: I am going on vacation to Victoria, Canada all next week. I will leave on Saturday morning and won't return until very late Thursday night. I don't know if I will get an update out before then or not, since that's only three more days. Enjoy this new chapter and I will post again after I return. Thanks for reading and reviewing, it keeps me typing and the muse flowing! 


	12. Chapter 12: Dispair

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html (Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.

AN: To download any of my stories, click on my author name at the top of this page and then click on homepage. You may read messages, leave messages, and take the poll without signing in, but you must sign into Yahoo to download the stories. In the sidebar that says members only, just click on files and it will lead you to all three stories, each available in PDF, e-book and mobipocket formats. Enjoy and please review!

'_Italics'_ is mental speech.

Chapter 12: Despair

Severus sat at the staff table, his dark mood reflected upon his dark scowling face, the pain, anger and agony clearly etched in the deep lines that made him appear much older than his actual age. His shoulder length greasy black hair was liberally streaked with grey, adding age without making him appear distinguished at all. His black piercing eyes swept the chattering students making their way back to the house tables, each busy sharing their summer excitements with their fellow classmates. Each time the malevolent glare of the potions master would catch an unsuspecting student's eyes, that student would suddenly freeze, unable to speak or blink while they were caught in the stark, deep penetrating glare. Feeling ashamed at the fear and panic that a simple gaze struck clear to their soul, each felt as if they had been judged and found sadly lacking in everything that mattered. Each would finally recover, shuddering and shaking as they realized where they were, they would return to their dorm mates, subdued and quieter than they had been.

Severus was lost, buried in his own personal hell as the beginning of term feast started once again as it did every September the first, the sorting hat sang some meaningless drivel, the announcements flowed over his head without penetrating his consciousness even once, and only someone watching very closely would notice the quick flicker of interest in his dark black orbs as the first of the new eleven year olds was called up to sit upon the ancient stool and place the dilapidated and venerable old hat upon their head to be sorted.

Severus searched each young and eager face, hoping for some recognition, some flash of understanding to lighten a pair of brilliant green eyes. Paying no attention to the names called; he had searched them in vain many times over the last summer without success; he inspected each small child, watching for a gesture, an unconscious movement, something, anything that might identify a hidden identity to someone who knew the child intimately.

The last child had been called and sorted, Severus could not have said which house the boy had been sorted to, and in fact had not a clue how many new Slytherins he would have to indoctrinate into his strict house rules by the end of the week. His shoulders slumped as the meaningless announcements flowed over his head, never registering or penetrating his own personal hell. Once again nothing, no glimmer, no flicker of recognition, his child; his gift was still gone!

Severus finally realized that someone was calling his name; he looked up to find Albus' worried countenance only inches away from the top of his head. The headmaster had aged greatly; the trademark twinkle seemed dimmed and forced somehow. He rarely smiled and the laugh lines that had been etched on his wizened face were slowly being replaced by worry lines nearly as deep as the ones that aged the much younger man slumped into his chair, radiating despair and angst.

"Severus, you must pull yourself together, child, you are tearing yourself apart with this grief and I worry about you." Albus' voice was soft but full of compassion and deep concern for the man he considered his son.

"Where is he, how could he just leave me? I love him; he should have been here tonight at least! He is eleven now, how could he not come here! His name is still in your book, so he is still alive… somewhere!" The agony was clearly audible in the man's anguished speech as he looked for answers that the old man wished he had for him.

"I don't know, child and if I did I would have gone to the ends of the earth to fetch him myself. I love him too, child, you know that. I had also hoped somehow that he would appear here tonight for his sorting, but it was not to be. Come now, you need to get some sleep before classes begin again tomorrow." Albus reached a surprisingly strong hand under Severus' upper arm and pulled the younger man to his feet reluctantly.

"I can't go on, Albus; there is nothing left to go on for. Tonight was my last hope of finding him again. I can't, I just can't…" his voice, so soft it was barely audible cracked with deep emotion, tears welling and falling unnoticed down the prematurely aged face.

Albus pulled the man into a hug, drawing the graying head to his own quivering shoulder to both give and receive comfort from the touch. "Shh, child, I will be there for you as long as I can, and we cannot give up hope as long as we breathe. He is still alive and that will have to be enough for now." His voice softened until he was speaking only to himself, "For the both of us, child, for the both of us."

He gently walked the silently crying wizard out the door at the back of the Great Hall and down the short hall to the quarters he had shared with his son for only a single short year. Just one short year that had changed all of their lives forever. A single year that was still dictating their lives even now, so many years later.

Albus turned the care of Severus over to Nippy and made his own solitary and anguished walk up to his own quarters to find Minerva McGonagall waiting to offer her own comfort to the clearly distraught man. "How is Severus doing, Albus?" Concern deepened the worry lines on the prim and proper witch's face as she directed the obviously upset man into an upholstered chair in front of a blazing fire where an elegant tea service sat on a small table waiting for them. She fixed a cup, adding a dollop of a strong calming potion to his cup before handing it to her old friend.

"I don't know how much longer he can stay sane, he tries to hold it all inside, but it's tearing him apart. I know he hoped_, we both hoped_, that Shaun would return tonight. And to watch what should have been his son's sorting ceremony, what should have been a night of joy and anticipation…and to have it all crushed once again! I don't know, Minerva, I just don't know how much more he can take. Or I can take, either!" He slumped down into his chair, finally sipping the tea his friend and colleague urged him to drink.

The two sat and stared into the flames, each lost in their own thoughts as they pondered how much their lives had changed on that fateful July day seven years ago.

Back in his chambers, Severus slumped to the floor, so bone weary and mind tired that he couldn't manage to dredge up the energy to even stand up. He wished he could just stop breathing, his heart would stop beating, life could just end so he could be together again with his son, his glorious child. He thought back on the last seven years, the sheer fear he had engendered in the students unlucky enough to cross his path or even make unsuspecting eye contact. His students learned the material he taught them, they were too afraid of him not to. But there was no joy, no spark of excitement when a particularly good student managed to perfectly brew a complicated potion. His life was empty, a bitter, angst filled shell of life, while inside he had died and his soul was just as gone as if he had been kissed by a dementor.

He dragged himself over to the couch and buried his head as he had done every night for the past seven years, small broom clutched in his left hand, right hand rubbing a small blue blanket with the initials HJP across his tear streaked face as he relived that fateful day over and over again, searching for some tiny clue, some here-to-fore overlooked small fact, some something that would give him hope to continue for one more day, one more minute, even one more heartbeat…but there was nothing; as there had always been nothing.

As he had so many nights before, Severus finally slept, tired beyond belief with grief and crying until he physically could not remain awake another second. Nippy sighed once again and went about the job of efficiently putting his master to bed once again as he had so many times before and he would do so again as long as he needed to.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the very short chapter, but this seemed to be the logical stopping point to prologue the agony for the reader. I just got back from vacation around midnight last night and have been doing laundry like mad ever since. I will have the next chapter up very shortly so don't hit me with too many deadly spells or I won't be able to type! Thanks for reading and reviewing. 


	13. Chapter 13: The Return of a Son

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html (Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.

AN: To download any of my stories, click on my author name at the top of this page and then click on homepage. You may read messages, leave messages, and take the poll without signing in, but you must sign into Yahoo to download the stories. In the sidebar that says members only, just click on files and it will lead you to all three stories, each available in PDF, e-book and mobipocket formats. Enjoy and please review!

'_Italics'_ is mental speech.

AN: Yes, I know that I am very evil, but I'm not really, I couldn't leave you hanging like that so here is the next promised chapter. That wasn't much of a wait, now was it? And I'm not even done with the laundry and unpacking yet!

Chapter 13: The Return of a Son

Severus could feel the daylight trying to filter through his tightly clenched eyelids, the sticky residue of his tears from the night before still gluing his lashes together. He groaned as he heard Nippy trying to rouse him for another meaningless day of existence. He raised one heavy arm and brushed the annoyance away from him, but it returned with more insistence.

"Severus, Severus, child, you need to wake up now!"

'Wait, that wasn't Nippy's voice that was Albus' annoying voice. What is he doing in my chambers at this hour?' Severus' mind was too befuddled to articulate more than a groaning, "Huh, uh…"

He registered Poppy Pomfrey's irritating voice and finally registered what she said as a strong jolt of power hit him right in the sternum, "_Enervate!_"

Severus tried to bolt upright only to be pushed back down by a surprisingly strong hand on each shoulder, he glanced up to find Sirius Black on his left and a very concerned Remus Lupin crouched beside his right shoulder. He registered Albus and Poppy having a concerned conversation standing at his feet, as he took in his surroundings. Bizarre birthday decorations, crying children, mounds of wrapping paper strewn around the floor of the Great Hall. He whooped with delight, nearly hysterical laughter lifting his spirits and filling his heart as he realized it had all been a bizarre nightmare, he had simply passed out and cracked his head open on the immovable and unforgiving stone of the Great Hall floor when Shaun disappeared with that strange phoenix!

Poppy turned her attention to her patient once more, her wand flying in complicated charms as she evaluated the bizarre specter of Severus Snape laughing and exuding joy and happiness. Perhaps he had a more lasting mental imbalance from having two minor concussions on the same day? Her face screwed up in lines of concentration as she continued to find negative results, she searched her memory for ever more complicated scans to no avail. As the usually taciturn man seemed to be calming himself down into more normal behavior she merely shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head and muttering to herself as she returned to her interrupted conversation with the headmaster.

"Shaun, where is he? Let me up you moronic imbeciles!" Severus had stopped his near hysterical laughter and had noticed his son was not in the room.

Remus laughed sarcastically, "Well, he's back to normal, no lingering side effects from cracking his skull open when he fell!" He reached down and helped the still slightly dizzy father to his feet and steered him into a chair.

Severus looked from one person to another, looking for a clue about his son's whereabouts, surely that had not been a prophetic dream when he was unconscious, it just couldn't be! "_ALBUS!_" he yelled, "Quit babbling with that infernal woman and tell me _**WHERE IS MY SON**?"_

Albus left Poppy's side and came to sit beside Severus, clasping a strong hand onto his shoulder as he reassured him, "We don't know but Fawkes has been able to reassure me that he is safe and still within the castle. I don't have a very clear communication with him at the best of times but somehow he _has _managed to confirm that Shaun is perfectly fine and will return in a short time. We will have to wait until then for Shaun to tell us what happened, but in the meantime, we will be gathering up the other children and sending them home until next week." As Albus was talking to Severus; Minerva and Filius had been sorting out the mound of Neville's gifts from Shaun's and had shrunk both boys' new belongings into small boxes for transport.

Albus left the still shaky father to the tender mercies of Poppy Pomfrey and went to escort and reassure each of the departing children and their families that Shaun was indeed fine, and that school would be starting next Monday just as scheduled unless something else came up. With a huge sigh of relief he shut the heavy oak doors behind the last of the visitors and turned, leaning tiredly against the closed doors for support, he turned his attention back onto the staff.

"Fawkes has somehow managed to convey to me that Shaun will be returning in about two hours from now. How about if you all meet me in my office then and we will find out what has happened all at once? Until then, I am sure we can all find something that needs to be done to keep busy. I am assuming no one wants to leave until Shaun returns?"

Madams Hooch and Pomfrey nodded and several of the Professors just started picking up the Great Hall, forgetting for once to use magic as they needed something mindless to keep their hands busy and their minds occupied as the time passed so slowly.

* * *

Shaun had materialized into a completely unfamiliar stone chamber, the white phoenix' sharp talons still carefully snagged in the shoulder material of his birthday robes. He opened his eyes just to squeeze them shut again as he sneezed, again and again. The huge wings of the phoenix had stirred up what seemed to be centuries of dust and debris that covered every surface and flat space in the echoing chamber. When he stopped sneezing, he noticed his own small footsteps in the middle of a great expanse of undisturbed dust. He knew somehow that he was still within Hogwarts, the ambient magic of the castle still surrounded him, the familiar feeling of deep power, safety and love enveloped him as it always did in the ancient edifice.

He rubbed his nose to block more sneezes while managing to yell, "Nippy! Can you find me?" as loud as he was able to with the dust choking him. A loud pop followed by a semi-hysterical sneezing house elf answered him in the affirmative. "Nippy, can you please do something about the dust in here?" Shaun managed to choke out before falling down, gasping in vain for cleaner air to breathe.

Nippy nodded, unable to speak himself and snapped his fingers three times in quick succession. With each snap, another elf appeared and instantly took in the situation. The four house elves took less than fifteen minutes to have the entire chamber and all of its furnishings looking like they were in daily use and had not lain undisturbed by human or elf for almost a thousand years.

Now that the chamber was clean and he was able to breathe again, Shaun looked around at his surroundings with wonder and excitement. He saw four large portraits, several comfortable couches arranged invitingly around a huge white and grey marble fireplace and a huge wall; filled floor to ceiling with shelves full of books; small books, large books, thick ones and thin ones, but all of them exuding a feeling of great wisdom and age. He noticed there were several very large, ornately carved doors leading off from the chamber in which he still sat on the floor, finally noticing a faded and ancient Persian rug with predominately crimson and gold weaves; but with traces of blue and green as well woven into the intricate patterns now barely discernable underneath him.

He was still looking around with his eyes wide and blinking slowly with his mouth hanging half open when he noticed the white phoenix was sitting on a gilded perch, beak open and laughing at his wonder and awe.

'_Are we done gawking, hatchling? Ready to get down to some explanations and a little bit of work today?'_

Shaun should be startled that he could hear the phoenix talking to him, but somehow he knew that it was all right and that he would be able to speak to her just as well.

He grinned crookedly at the huge bird and his green eyes flashed with mirth, _'My daddy's gonna to be real mad at you, bird. You better watch out when he finds us!' _

'_I don't doubt that he will be upset, but it was necessary, hatchling. You need to touch the edge of each of the portraits on the wall. Yes, that's right; anywhere that you can reach is fine.'_ The last was said as Shaun reached up on tiptoe to just barely run his hand on the edge of the first ornate gilded portrait frame. The black haired man, dressed in finely embroidered crimson and gold with a huge jewel encrusted sword strapped to his waist, stretched and yawned deeply, his hand raising in front of his mouth as he apologized politely. His chair was just visible behind him, its ornate carving visible more clearly on the massive arms that extended out each side to support his muscular arms.

The two ladies were almost exact opposites in coloring and physical make-up. The first lady was short and slightly round, with blonde ringlets tied back with a bright yellow ribbon that matched her very old fashioned gown. She was pictured sitting on a bright white wicker bench in a garden surrounded with springtime blooms and a frisky black and white kitten playing with a ball of vibrant green yarn at her feet. She opened her eyes, smiling down on the stretching form of Shaun and greeted him warmly.

The second lady reminded Shaun of a younger version of his Grandma Minerva. She had her long dark brown hair pulled tightly back into a bun at the nape of her neck and her high necked, long sleeved blue and gold gown was both prim and proper for a matron much older than she appeared to be. She looked to have been painted sitting in a comfortable red leather chair in front of the wall of books contained within this very chamber. The volume she was reading had fallen open upon her lap and was waiting for her to pick it up and begin reading again at any moment. A small round table held a painted china plate with small buttered scones and a matching tea cup still wisped a small stream of steam invitingly.

Shaun hesitated before touching the last portrait. It displayed an older man with a pinched lip expression on his face, as if he had been smelling something vile for the last century without respite. He was almost bald and had a cruel glint to his brown eyes. He had been painted stirring a cauldron of some unidentifiable potion and had the familiar trappings of a well stocked lab surrounding him. Shaun loved his daddy's lab and willingly spent hours helping him there but this lab didn't feel the same way as his own daddy's lab did, somehow this one felt dark, almost evil to the young boy.

The phoenix trilled softly, _'Yes, child, he can be dark at times, just as your father can be. But it is necessary that he be awakened if the dark evil that threatens the very fabrics of time and nature are to be beaten back. It will be your task, but all of these must contribute their part, just as you must contribute yours. Now, go ahead and awaken the potion's master, just remember; you are a master of the 'Fool the Students' game this man also plays.'_

Shaun took a deep breath, coughed some lingering dust out of his lungs, and reached up on tiptoe to touch the very edge of the frame, just one fingertip making a slight contact. He felt a surge of magic leave the end of his finger and flow out to the charmed inhabitant of the dark feeling portrait before he jumped back and out of the way instinctively. He remembered what his daddy had taught him and threw up his mental shields as tightly as he could, wrapped his face with a miniature version of his daddy's patented sneer, and faced the now awake potion's master looking just as indifferent at the portrait as the painted face did at him.

The man put down his stirring stick and snarled at the child standing so far below him. "Who are you to disturb my sleep? Well, boy, speak up!"

"My name is not boy and who are you?" Shaun answered back, knowing it really annoyed his daddy to have a question answered with another question.

The man drew himself up fully, which would have been much more effective if he hadn't been a fairly short man and Shaun was used to the not inconsiderable height of his father. "I am Lord Salazar Slytherin and you have disturbed my rest. Now, tell me your name, boy!"

Shaun merely giggled impishly while telling the man, "My Daddy can glare much better than you can! And I don't have to tell you my name, you are just a portrait, you can't hurt me!" Shaun finished his sing song speech by sticking his tongue out and wiggling his fingers in his ears like Terry had shown him last week at the now very purple faced man in the portrait. "So nah, nah, boo, boo to you to!" That had been Luna's contribution to the discussion of the young students on appropriate insults that they had had last week when they were supposed to be memorizing their subtraction problems.

The dark haired man in the throne like chair chuckled at Slytherin, "I don't think he wants to answer you Salazar. Child, come here and let me look at you closer. That's it child, we won't hurt you. We just need to know what to call you." The man smiled at Shaun encouragingly, waiting patiently for Shaun to make up his mind.

"My name is Shaun Severus Snape and my daddy's the potion's master here at Hogwarts. My grandpa is the headmaster and he isn't gonnabe happy if he can't find me. My daddy can be _very_ mean if he gets mad at you, but my grandpa can **_fry _**you like a sausage." Shaun had never actually _seen_ his Grandpa Albus _fry_ anyone, but it sounded like something his Grandpa could do if he got mad enough.

The cheerful garden lady laughed; her gentle chuckle almost a bell like tinkle of mirth. "Well, then we shall just make sure your daddy and grandpa can find you soon, now won't we."

The library lady looked thoughtful, "I don't recall any Snapes in the direct Founder's lines, how can this child be the prophesied one if he doesn't have the right blood lines?"

The phoenix trilled again and the others seemed to understand her as well as Shaun did, 'He has been adopted as foretold to the goblins, he was orphaned, and then unloved and abused by his caretakers, now he has become the beloved child of the prophecy:

_**Child of Light, Never Dark**_

_**Born of Woe, Raised in Pain,**_

_**Scarred Forever by Evil's Mark**_

_**Will Lead Us All, the Light will Reign!**_

_**Child of Fire, Creature of Night**_

_**Will gather the forces and lead the fight.**_

_**Goblin, wizard, giant and more**_

_**Surround the child to help the right**_

_**Evil is doomed in its battle with light.**_

_**Bow to the Child, that evil has touched**_

_**Scarred and marked; his soul still pure.**_

_**Forces of light behold the one,**_

_**Born to lead and banish the dark, foretold; take heed**_

_**Or darkness will win.**_

_**Train the infant, encourage the child**_

_**From unloved infant to cherished child to mighty youth**_

_**Join him; follow him, your souls to unite**_

_**He'll banish the darkness and bring forth the light.**_

_Today he turned five years old and received the 'Torque of Merlin' as well as called me to be his familiar. His father is unaware of his surroundings so our time today will be very short. Another visit can be with his father and grandfather to gain a full understanding of his history, for now we need to explain a little of what will be happening to him and then return him to his family.'_ As the phoenix repeated the prophecy that he had heard in the bank, the boy remembered what had happened that day once again and glared at the large white bird.

"You made me and daddy and Grandpa Albus forget about the bank and the goblins, didn't you?" He put his hands on his hips and tried futilely to glare like his daddy.

'_Yes, hatchling and now we need to explain to you why we did that and what will happen now. Can you feel someone in your head with you?'_ Shaun nodded and the phoenix continued, _'That is your mentor and trainer, Merlin, who died eons ago but has been waiting for you and for this time. As you sleep he will teach you what you need to know and he will always be available to help protect you if needed. Otherwise he will help you control your magic by keeping most of it unavailable to you until you are much older and have need of it and control over it. I am your familiar; my name is Niveus, which means snow as I am as white as snow. I will be here to be your friend, your companion and your guide to keep you from straying from the path that you must follow.'_

Shaun nodded his understanding to his familiar and looked at each of the portraits, they introduced themselves as the Four Founders of Hogwarts and told him he was in the Founder's Chambers that would be his one day when he grew up more and needed them. He spent several minutes talking to each of the founders; even Slytherin who had warmed up somewhat after finding out his father was the Head of Slytherin House before Niveus trilled softly to remind him of the time.

'_Time to return, hatchling, your father is most worried and so are the others.'_ She grasped his shoulder once again and with a more familiar flash of white light, they disappeared only to reappear instantaneously in the headmaster's office. Niveus circled once, crooning softly to the group before dropping Shaun softly into his father's lap.

Severus grabbed the small boy and squeezed him as if proving to himself that the child wasn't missing and his horrible dream had been nothing more than a concussion induced nightmare. He rained soft kisses onto the crown of Shaun's head and then pulled the messy haired child into his shoulder, relishing the touch and smell of his child once again, his tears of joy and release of his intense emotionally exhausting afternoon trailing unashamedly down his cheeks. Shaun pushed his daddy away, "I wasn't gone _that long_ Daddy! I never even _left _the castle!" he complained, but then relented giving his father a squeezing hug and soft cheek kisses in return.

As Grandpa Albus plied the group with lemon crisp biscuits, Shaun excitedly told about meeting the paintings and his familiar and how he had sneezed and sneezed. Somehow he forgot to mention that he now had Merlin residing within his head or the memory of the restored prophecy.

* * *

Shaun had fallen asleep before they could feed him dinner, his excitement of his birthday, the shock of his new familiar and the lack of sleep from the night before all weighed down his eyelids as soon as he sat in his chair at the staff table to eat. Severus was happy to lay the slightly wheezing child across his lap as he ate; contently rubbing his left hand in mindless patterns on the small fabric covered back and up to run his long, slender fingers through his son's wayward black locks as he talked softly about inconsequential things with the staff. Later, he could not have told you what he ate, his heart was too full with the knowledge that his son had been returned to him, safe and sound, and not taken away from him to care what he put into his mouth.

Severus gently slung the sleeping boy over his shoulder, his legs dangling limply down his torso as his limp body molded itself into his father's shoulder. He idly noticed that Shaun's legs seemed to reach farther down his own body than they had just a couple of months ago and was pleased the boy was finally catching up on his classmates' height and weight. He had been afraid the boy would always be small and thin because of the abuse and starvation he had suffered at his aunt and uncle's hands, but it appeared he had been young enough and Severus and Poppy had been aggressive enough with the nutrient potions to prevent any permanent stunting of his growth.

Severus had to consciously stop himself from humming as he walked the short hall to their quarters, it wouldn't fit his image at all if a student ever caught him happily humming to his child, especially when he finally recognized the tune as a lullaby his own mother had sung to him as a small child! But what the hell, today he would hum, his Shaun was still here and he was so happy he didn't care if anyone knew it! His eyes glistened wetly as he tucked the small frame into his bed after flicking his wand to change the boy into his favorite summer pajamas.

He sat on the edge of his boy's bed, gently brushing his hand through the long silky hair over and over again, reluctant to let Shaun out of his sight ever again. He leaned over and kissed the small forehead, thinking to himself, 'The brat is going to be the death of me, I'll either have a heart attack from shock, go bald before I'm forty, or I'll kill him myself for worrying me!' Severus smiled fondly, flicked out the single torch that was still lit with a swish of his wand, and went to his own room for the night, for once oddly nostalgic that his son no longer insisted upon sleeping in his father's bedroom any more.

* * *

Shaun found himself in a small cottage, the bright sunlight streaming in from a glisteningly clean window, the six small panes forming a pattern of shadow on the floor, a comfortably faded dark blue rug under his feet. He turned from the window to find an old man, long white beard tucked into his belt, his hair almost non existent except for a wild fringe of white that banded the back of his head in a fringe about six inches long that traveled from ear to ear across the back of his head. He wore thick spectacles made of tortoiseshell that made his pale watery blue eyes appear much too large for his face. His wizened pink skin had crinkles at both eyes and the edges of his mouth from a lifetime of smiles and laughs and his ears were curled and almost as large as those of a house elf. He was dressed in a deceptively simple robe of fine blue wool, the braided gold belt holding his beard also held several puckered leather pouches that were tied with a variety of cords and colors. He had simple brown leather sandals, with gnarled toes and thick white toenails that matched his gnarled and miss-shaped knuckles and long white curving fingernails. He smiled genially at the small boy and waved at a comfortable sagging couch that was positioned to take full advantage of a small fire with a black cauldron hanging from an iron hook positioned to cook a meaty smelling stew without burning.

Shaun scuffed his bare toes through the soft pile of the old rug, enjoying the soft feel almost like his beloved sheepskin that he still slept on sometimes. He grinned at the old man as he leaped up and flopped into the couch, it's soft, worn folds engulfing him in a feeling of soft comfort and love. The old man knelt with surprising agility to toast a thick slab of bread over the embers before turning, slathering it with fresh creamy butter, and offering it to Shaun, who took it gratefully, using the sleeve of his pajamas pulled down over his hand to protect his fingers from the hot bread. He blew on it to cool it enough to savor the first wonderful bite as the old wizard sat down beside him, blowing on his own piece of toast with a matching grin.

"Ah, Shaun; the simple pleasures are what makes life worth living. Don't ever forget that child."

"I won't sir." Shaun nodded his head in agreement, the toast tasted wonderful. He smiled in contentment as he used his sleeve to wipe a runnel of melted butter off of his chin.

The old man chuckled, "No need to be so formal, especially as we are both inside your own head, child. Simply call me Merlin if that suits you, and if it is permissible, I will call you Shaun." He chuckled again as Shaun simply nodded, unwilling to stop eating his hot bread for more of an answer.

"As you eat, I will tell you a story, don't be afraid if you don't remember all of it, it will be told again and again as you grow older, so just remember what you can, child." Merlin settled back, his own toast gone. "A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Whoops! Wrong story! Well, a long time ago any way, there was a very lonely old wizard who didn't have a family and he wanted to have children more than anything, but he was too old so he traveled around the country all by himself. Until one day, he came across a burning farmhouse and heard screams coming from the upstairs. He spied a small boy and an older girl trying to climb out of a window, but the house below was burning and there was an angry mob of people throwing rocks and shaking pitchforks at them and not letting them climb out of the window to safety. The wizard got very angry and he sent a bright ball of light at the mob, scaring them away from the two children.

Then, just as he used a spell to lift the children to safety, the house collapsed from the fire and the two became orphans, just like you are, child. The boy's parents and his aunt, who was the girl's mother, and a brother and two twin baby sisters didn't make it out of the house before the fire collapsed the roof. The two were burned and very ill for a long time, but the wizard took care of them and finally made them all better and they became the children that he had always wanted. The girl was named Helga and the boy was named Godric. Do you recognize those names, child?"

Shaun nodded; his bread now a comfortable weight in his middle as he listened to the man's soothing story.

"Well, as you can guess, the wizard is me and the boy was Godric Gryffindor, his cousin was Helga Hufflepuff and they gave me the great honor of becoming my children. After they grew up, they wanted to have a place for magical children to grow up safe, without worrying if the non-magical people being scared of them and burning down their houses or killing their children. So they found two more friends, a very bright witch named Rowena Ravenclaw and a very talented potion's master named Salazar Slytherin. Rowena eventually married Godric and Salazar brought his wife with him to the school they all started together.

For many, many long years the school grew and the students all learned and lived together. But as it grew, more and more students came from non-magical families and one year, a young student brought a non-magical disease back with him from his summer holidays that killed Salazar's wife and his two smallest children before he could develop and brew a potion to cure the illness. He started to blame the muggle born students for his wife and daughters' deaths and grew more and more bitter with hatred until the other three Founders had to make him and his son, leave the castle for the safety of all the students. He vowed that he would kill all the muggle born students and Godric for allowing them to come to the school. Do you understand so far, Shaun?"

Shaun looked puzzled, "But it wasn't the student's fault that he was sick? Daddy says I'm not resp…responz…it's not my fault that my aunt and uncle hit me and you can't help it if you get sick, can you?"

"No child, but he was so hurt and so lost when his wife and his daughters died that he wasn't thinking right. And your daddy is very right; it wasn't your fault that your aunt and uncle hit you no matter what they told you." He pulled the boy to him and Shaun curled into his side as he loved to do with his father.

"Now I think, child that is enough lesson for one night, so lay your head down on my lap and I will sing you to sleep." Shaun yawned, cracking his jaw with the force and width of it. He lay his head down on the ancient wizards lap and fell asleep, the mellow baritone soothing and easing him into a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Shaun was getting annoyed at his daddy, the man practically wanted to go into the bathroom with him, he had even sat on the edge of the tub and washed his hair for him, something he hadn't done in the last few months. So now Shaun was ready to make his daddy pay for the unwanted attention he was showering on him. With a mischievous glint in his too innocent green eyes, he sat down at the circular table and seemingly ignored his surroundings as the wheels madly turned in his devious little mind.

Albus looked speculatively at the young boy, he knew he was up to something, but was much too happy to see a normal child shining in that deceptively angelic face to stop him. It wasn't _his_ fault if Severus seemed to be the only one _oblivious_ to the child's machinations. Remus, Filius, and Sirius were the only others at the table for lunch and they certainly weren't going to spoil the boy's plans.

Severus filled his son's plate with a slice of tender roast beef, carefully cut into manageably sized pieces, a small scoop of garlic mashed potatoes and a slightly larger scoop of green peas. It surprised him still that the boy would eat practically anything put on his plate, but how he could managed to choke down those miserable little green balls of nastiness was beyond him. The boy actually liked them! He filled his own plate with meat and potatoes, but opted for the green salad with balsamic vinegar dressing instead of the loathed vegetable.

Four pairs of twinkling eyes noticed a small hand wave under the table as the first bite on Severus' fork entered his mouth. Severus' face took on a startled, disgusted look that only flickered briefly before disappearing into his normal unreadable mask. 'How did I get peas on my fork?' he looked down at his plate, not a pea in sight.

He carefully cut a piece of beef, dipped it into the rich gravy and anticipated the taste. 'Ugh! Peas again. How?' He tried to hide his bewilderment as he carefully dug through his gravy and swished his fork unsuspectingly through his potatoes for any hiding nasty surprises. 'Nothing.' He took a third bite, carefully checking the potatoes before politely placing a small amount into his mouth. The four men surrounding him breaking into peals of laughter at his expense made him open his eyes wide with astonishment and glare down at his son who had slid under the table trying to hide while giggling merrily at the joke he had pulled off so successfully.

Albus was leaning back against his chair, laughing so hard, his cheeks were flaming pink and he had tears glistening in his eyes. "Three bites! Marvelous Shaun, I thought he would have caught on after the first one!"

"True Marauder's son you are, Shaun!" Remus managed to get out while Sirius just collapsed against his fellow Marauder in great glee. Professor Flitwick's tiny tinkling laugh made an odd descant above the deeper chuckles and laughs of the three other wizards while Shaun's childish giggles added an extra depth of merriment to the table.

Severus tried to glare at his son and the others who were laughing at him, but he couldn't manage more than a few moments before he had joined them, his own smooth and silky baritone filling in the odd musical chorus of laughs.

* * *

AN: There, now don't beat me for the last chapter; I just couldn't resist a dream sequence and an evil cliff hanger. I guess I just had too much time to think on my vacation. Victoria is only two and a half hours away by ferry so we go there several times a year. I really enjoy it; it's like going back in time.

In the last eighteen months my husband and I have gone to Victoria six times, Vancouver three times, Salem three times, Ocean Shores and Astoria once each and then a circle of fifteen states during the summer that took five weeks and more than 6,500 miles so we travel quite a bit. I suppose I will eventually need to get a laptop but not yet!

The next chapter will begin Shaun's training, more history and the beginning of day school. Thanks for reading and reviewing, it keeps me typing!


	14. Chapter 14: Summer School

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: I am excited, my very first story, Harry Potter and the Guardians of Power, has been nominated for a Quills Harry Potter Fan Fiction contest under the action/adventure heading at http/ www. geocities. com /dragonhidequills/main.html (Just remove the spaces, for some reason ff will not download a link here). Please read it and vote for it. And thanks for all of those who have added my stories and my author name to their favorites and their c2 groups! Makes writing much more meaningful and fun when I know people like it.

AN: To download any of my stories, click on my author name at the top of this page and then click on homepage. You may read messages, leave messages, and take the poll without signing in, but you must sign into Yahoo to download the stories. In the sidebar that says members only, just click on files and it will lead you to all three stories, each is available in PDF, e-book and mobipocket formats. Enjoy and please review!

'_Italics'_ is mental speech.

Chapter 14: Summer School

School began in earnest for the seven children, three girls and four boys, the following Monday morning. At nine, in the classroom that the elves had provided next to Remus and Sirius' suite, there were six distinct plops and squeals as the day school students used their new portkeys, landing in various attitudes of ineptitude around the edges. Blaise and Susan landed almost on their feet, but they were the closest ones. Remus, Sirius and Shaun were quick to help each one onto their feet, while the two adults were praising each child on their very first solo portkey and promising more practice on landings later in the day.

The children looked around the classroom with varying degrees of wonder and anticipation on their faces. The room had seven short but comfortably large desks set around in a semi-circle with a large magical blackboard in one corner, each with its own comfortable looking leather desk chair; a very large open place with a thick mat and a plethora of large soft cushions scattered around invitingly. Under the back windows, various tanks and cages held a tempting variety of magical and mundane animals, and a child sized but apparently well stocked potions lab finished up the last area. The fourth wall had three doors that were all closed but promised more areas to explore later.

Remus called the children over to sit at their desks and they shuffled around until each found the one with their name in letters carefully displayed prominently across the top. They had been situated boy, girl, around the circle, starting and ending with boys since there was one more boy than girls. Remus spent the next half hour going around the group, showing how to properly hold a quill, the right way to get just enough ink on the tip and how to correctly form the letters of the alphabet. Sirius helped, but his handwriting wasn't nearly as good as Remus' neat strokes so he mostly just encouraged as much as he was able to.

Shaun thought his right hand would fall off if he wrote the alphabet one more time, so he switched to his left hand and found his illegible chicken scratches were much clearer and easier to read. Remus stopped beside him, saying gently, "Feel free to decide which hand is easier for you to use, Shaun, it's all right to switch off now, but it will be much easier to learn if you decide which hand to use soon." He ruffled the boy's messy hair and turned to Luna who was making up new letters with beautiful curlicues and swirls on her parchment.

Everyone was happy to move to the center of the room and sprawl out on the comfortable pillows as Sirius began telling them stories about the ancient wizards and the beginnings of the magical community. Shaun thought that when he grew up History of Magic might be his second most favorite class, behind potions of course.

* * *

As the students lost themselves in Sirius' captivating stories of wizard kind, Severus was losing himself, or at least losing his temper, in the intricacies of the adapted Wolfsbane potion. 'There's no purpose in using all of the original ingredients to control the wolf, as the wolf is being expelled by the phoenix ash, but if I remove the boomslang skin, the aconite becomes unstable and I need it to keep the human mind in control until the change from werewolf to animagus is complete…if I add oil of chameleon will that let the person become something other than a wolf animagus…perhaps, if I remove…' His mind focused completely on the task at hand as he mentally added and subtracted ingredients.

Severus had been so focused on his task that lunch time had long since passed and it was almost dinner time when he raised his head, stretched making several vertebra pop in complaint and looked with bleary eyes at the muggle style clock on the wall. Muttering several choice words that he hoped Shaun didn't know yet, he quickly banished the mess, cleaned his instruments, removed his potions robe and placed it into the vat of neutralizing solvent for the elves to deal with, then he scrubbed his hands with the same neutralizing potion he had used for the past ten years before sweeping out of his lab, a last series of wand flicks extinguishing the torches, locking the cabinets of supplies, and warding and locking the room against all intruders.

He didn't run, but his long legs allowed him to walk quickly at a pace that would have most others scurrying to keep up as he climbed up to Remus and Sirius' suite, just now aware he was over two hours late in reclaiming his son from his tutors. He opened the door to the suite and stopped, bewildered at the chaos he was witnessing. Every door to every room was open, including the one that connected to the adjoining Snape quarters. Remus was flinging open every cupboard in the small kitchen area, Sirius' feet could be seen just poking out from under the large bed in his bedroom, Minerva was using her wand to sweep around the room, calling out for Shaun, and Albus' bright neon blue robes were just visible disappearing into Shaun's bedroom through the open doors.

He couldn't see Filius or Poppy but he could hear their voices, "Shaun, come out, come out wherever you are!"

He slammed the door behind him; making the inane pictures that decorated the lounge rattle against the stone walls. Everyone froze, eyes unwillingly drawn to the tall, imposing figure now standing like a stone statue, one eyebrow raised almost to his hairline in question. "What in bloody hell is going on?" His voice was deceptively soft but no less menacing for its lack of volume.

Remus stood up, seeming to have shrunk under the other's intense glare. "Well, we…um…sort of lost Shaun…again."

"And, **_how_** pray tell, did you '_lose_' Shaun…again?" Both eyebrows were now down and almost meeting in the middle in consternation.

"We were playing 'hide and seek' and it was Shaun's turn to hide and well, he sort of…well, Sirius sort of said…" the former werewolf's voice tapered off to nothing.

Severus turned to glare at Sirius, "You said **_what_**, exactly?"

Sirius swallowed, tried to speak, but only a croak came out so he swallowed again, "Well, I kind of told him he couldn't hide anywhere that I couldn't find him." He bent his head down in shame, not wanting to look at the man's irate face.

"What **_blithering idiot_** thought it would be a good idea to teach a child to play '**_hide_**' in a magical castle with disappearing rooms, moving staircases, and Merlin only knows how many alcoves and hiding places? A child who can _apperate anywhere_ and has a bad habit of **_disappearing from sight at will!" _**Severus' voice had started out deafeningly loud but had gotten softer and more deadly until it ended in a menacing snarl that was almost a hiss of menace.

A moment of silence was followed by every head swiveling so quickly that several necks were heard to crack. An innocent giggle was audible before a small pop of sound heralded the reappearance of Shaun, sitting cozily in the corner of the couch, mere feet away from all of the frantic searchers.

With an angelic smile of innocence, Shaun answered, "**_You did Daddy_**, when Neville and Blaise spent the afternoon, remember?" He giggled again at the astonished faces looking at him. Severus was opening and closing his mouth, face even paler than usual. Remus and Sirius went from ashamed, to surprised; to gleeful in a flash and everyone else just looked very relieved before beginning to smile. Sirius tried hard not to snort, swallowing his own saliva wrong, he started to choke and splutter. Remus reached over and slapped him on the back hard enough to make the poor man trip forward a step before catching himself by falling on Severus who wasn't expecting to be pushed from behind. He wound up just managing to twist enough to fall on the couch beside his son instead of flattening the poor boy by falling on him.

Severus recovered his composure first as he pulled the small boy over his lap before Shaun could even understand what was happening; pulled back his arm that was so strong from years of stirring cauldrons, and applied his hand to the boy's unprotected backside in three swift spanks. "That's for hiding by being invisible" swat one hit, "that's for not answering the adults calling for you," the second swat made contact, "and this one is for scaring everyone half to death!" the third swat was harder than the other two. Severus then pulled the sobbing boy up by his arms and crushed him against his chest in a fierce hug. "And this is because _I love you_, no matter how mad I get or how naughty you get." But when he went to bend down and kiss his son's tears away, Shaun disappeared with a shouted, "**_I HATE YOU! YOU PROMISED NOT TO HIT ME!"_** and a much softer, "you promised…"

* * *

Shaun reappeared directly in front of Nippy and fell into the startled but open arms of the small elf, sobbing incoherently. Nippy just led the boy over, snapped his fingers to make a comfortable child size couch appear, and sat down, pulling the hysterical child up into his lap. Nippy rubbed his gnarled hands up and down the shaking frame, murmuring soothing nonsense sounds as he had heard Master Snape do so many times in the last year. Shaun's sobs decreased in volume and then frequency as he finally calmed down enough to tell Nippy his story.

Nippy shook his small head at what the boy had done. "Master Shaun, did Master Snape leave bruises? Did he break bones? Is Master Shaun really hurts now? Or is his pride hurts too much?" The elf asked gently.

"But he…he…spanked me!"

"Yes, Master Shaun, Master Snape did spank you. He spanked you. He does not hit you with fist or belt. Did Master Shaun deserve to be spanked?"

The small boy took a shuddering breath as he thought over what the elf had said. He bent his head down and sniffled softly. "Yes." He whispered very softly. "I guess I scared them and I should have come when they called. But…"

Nippy put one finger under the small chin, "No but. You knew how they felt, you are an empath. Why did you make them so scared?"

Shaun just shook his head, now looking bewildered, "But I _didn't_ feel them at all, well maybe just a little bit, but not like before!"

Nippy looked at him puzzled. "You couldn't feel they is sad and scared because they is not finding you?"

Shaun got a far away look and his eyes went out of focus as he searched within his mind. _'Merlin, why didn't I feel them? I thought they were still playing because I couldn't feel them_.'

He was suddenly sitting on the couch in the cottage, leaning his tired body against the old man's chest as he fiddled with the long beard. Merlin laughed at his tickling touch and explained, _'Remember, child, we told you, we would bind some of your powers until you were old enough and trained enough to handle them. Your empathy awoke much too early because of the constant exposure to harm at your aunt and uncle's and then the daily overload of ambient magic here at Hogwarts. If you had been raised in a normal, loving family, the only feelings you would have been exposed to would have been caring and supportive so your empathic abilities would have grown gradually and not been noticeable to you until after you had been at Hogwarts for several years. But they awoke too early to help you protect yourself and then last year was too much and they just exploded into full power instead of gradually like they should have.'_

Green eyes still red and bloodshot from crying met the twinkling green eyes of the old wizard, _'I guess I understand. But what do I do now; I can't feel what people around me are feeling anymore.'_

'_Well, child, I think it's time for you to return and tell your Daddy that you are sorry for yelling at him and then all of the others that you are sorry for scaring them by hiding. And then I think it's time for your Daddy, Grandpa Albus and Grandma Minerva to meet the Founder's and plan what we all need to do, don't you?'_

With a deep shuddering sigh, Shaun nodded and reluctantly hugged the old mage goodbye. Merlin hugged him back, and said, _"Remember, I am always a thought away. Perhaps next time you might think of talking with me before doing something like this, hmm?'_ He just raised one eyebrow in question and Shaun nodded in agreement before opening his eyes to find himself asleep against Nippy's chest. Shaun and Nippy talked for several more minutes before Shaun reluctantly said goodbye and popped home to face his father.

* * *

Severus had alternately paced and then sank down into the couch in despair before standing to pace once again. He understood what Albus was trying to explain to him but in his mind he could only see the look of pure hatred on his son's face as he shouted. 'How could I betray his trust like that? He'll never forgive me. My son hates me!' Albus finally just grabbed Severus' upper arms and forced him to sit down before leaning down and getting right into his face.

"Stop beating yourself up, Severus. Shaun doesn't hate you. And in fact, this is a good sign." Albus' eyes had almost regained their full sparkle as he soothed the distraught man in front of him.

What Albus had just said finally penetrated the fog that clouded Severus' brain with its absurdity. "What? You are barmy, you old coot! How is this good?"

Now that he had the black haired man's attention, the aged wizard pulled an armchair close and sat down, his gnarled hands on the younger man's knees, both in support and to keep the man from escaping "Yes, he finally feels secure enough and comfortable enough to risk saying something that you don't like. Think, child, he would never have stood up to you just a couple of months ago. He trusts you enough to openly defy you."

Severus was silent as what his mentor was trying to convey made its convoluted way though his brain to finally make sense. He looked wonderingly at the older man, "You're right. He never would have said _anything_ that he didn't think would please me. And that, bloody hell, was about as 'displeasing' as he could get!"

Albus patted a hand on the younger man's knee and sat back in satisfaction. He pulled out his wand and conjured two cups of strong tea, handed one to Severus and sat back in his own chair, sipping his own absently. "Now, we just have to find where he went this time and hope it's not the Whomping Willow again."

Severus had half risen to his feet, once more in sheer agony of worry about his son when a soft pop caused him to drop his teacup, his drink forgotten as a small sobbing form clung to him for dear life.

"I'm sorry, Daddy, I'm so sorry. I love you, Daddy, I'm sorry…" was repeated over and over as Shaun sobbed, his face buried into his daddy's robes, his hands fisted into the soft material as if he would never let go.

Severus unconsciously patted the sobbing child as he rained soft kisses on the black haired head that fit so naturally just under his chin. He leaned his head down, relishing the feel of the small head against his cheek as he murmured sounds of forgiveness and love to the precious burden on his lap. "It's okay, child, I know you don't hate me. But you did disobey Uncle Remus and Mr. Black. And then you scared Grandma and Grandpa and the others when you didn't answer and they couldn't find you. Why didn't you just come out when the game was over?"

Shaun screwed up his face, still unseen as it was buried, and shrugged his shoulders. A tiny voice was filtered through the material as Shaun admitted, "Don't know Daddy. I can't**_ feel_** them anymore so I guess I didn't know how scared they were."

Albus had been quietly leaving but stopped at the boy's confession in confusion. Severus had picked up on the boy's confession and questioned him further. "What do you mean, you couldn't _feel _them anymore?" He had put his hand under the boy's chin and lifted his head so they were looking eye to eye once more.

"Merlin said the Founders would tell you and that it was time for you and Grandpa and Grandma to come and visit them." He touched a small hand to the golden torque around his small neck, "This limits my magic as I learn to use it and get more older so I guess it makes it so I don't feel everyone else so much. I kinda like that; I don't like to feel everyone all the time. Especially when everyone's here."

Albus' blue eyes met Severus' coal black ones over the small head and wordlessly communicated. Two skilled Legilimens could place distinct thoughts into another's mind, especially with direct eye contact and the two had used it as an effective and completely secure means of communication over the years. Severus nodded at his mentor as the old man turned and left the room. Severus fed Shaun a light supper, and then the two climbed slowly up to the headmaster's office where Albus and Minerva were waiting for them.

* * *

Shaun was sucking on a lemon drop and talking to Fawkes while the adults talked over the events of the afternoon behind him.

'_Fawkes, where's Niveus? I thought she was my familiar and had to stay with me all the time like you stay with Grandpa?'_ Shaun was stroking the phoenix' feathers in just the right spots to make him trill softly in approval.

'_Ah, hatchling, she had to return to her nesting place to retrieve her ashes so that she can live with you from now on and not have to return there each time she needs to burn. We like to have our old ash in the place that we call home so that if we must burn away from home we are called back there to be reborn. Otherwise we must be reborn wherever we have burned and it's not as safe or comfortable for us. So by moving a small amount of ash from her first burning place to Hogwarts, she transfers her instinctive home to here with you. She will be back soon; ahh, here she is now, child.'_

A glorious bright white flash with streaks of brilliant blue flames appeared in the Headmaster's office, momentarily causing the three adults to stare speechless at the small boy with the large swan like phoenix on his boney shoulder. Her tail feathers dragged the ground and she almost caused Shaun to fall down before she magically adjusted her weight and length to a much smaller form.

Shaun squealed with delight, reaching up to first hug and then stroke the bird, his small feathers combing and preening her feathers almost as well as her cruelly hooked beak would be able to. "Niveus, I missed you. Are you here to stay now?" In his excitement, Shaun's word tumbled out of his mouth.

A long happy trill was all that the adults registered but it seemed that Shaun was fully able to understand her meaning. He listened intently and then turned to the three staring at him. "Niveus says that she will take Daddy and me and that Fawkes will take Grandma and Grandpa. It's time to go meet the Founders." Niveus dug her long talons into the fabric of Shaun's robes, being careful not to catch his tender young skin. Severus reached over and gently held onto a long tail feather but at his son's indignant snort, he grabbed it tightly. Albus and Minerva each grabbed one of Fawkes' glorious crimson tail feathers and with a flash of crimson and gold followed almost simultaneously with a second white and blue flash, the Headmaster's office was empty. Except for the excited chattering of the portraits that had been pretending to be asleep.

* * *

AN: Next an historic meeting followed by a glaring contest between Severus Snape and Salazar Slytherin. Who do you think will win? 


	15. Chapter 15: SS versus SS

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: To download any of my stories, click on my author name at the top of this page and then click on homepage. You may read messages, leave messages, and take the poll without signing in, but you must sign into Yahoo to download the stories. In the sidebar that says members only, just click on files and it will lead you to all three stories, each is available in PDF, e-book and mobipocket formats. Enjoy and please review!

'_Italics'_ is mental speech.

Chapter 15: SS versus SS

With a simultaneous flash of light, three wizards and one witch appeared in the chamber, four large portraits eagerly watching with anticipation as each looked around in varying degrees of wonder and astonishment.

Godric spoke first, "Welcome to the Chamber of the Founders. I assume you are young Shaun's Father, Grandfather and Grandmother? I am Godric Gryffindor, or at least I once was, on my left is my lovely wife Rowena, next to her is my cousin Helga Hufflepuff and the last portrait belongs to Salazar Slytherin."

Albus had recovered first and with a sweeping formal bow, he intoned, "Lord and Lady Gryffindor, Lord Salazar, Lady Hufflepuff, I am honored and awed to make your acquaintance." Minerva had made a remarkably graceful curtsey as Severus had bowed equally well at the four noble founders.

The two Lords had returned the formal bows with small bows of their own to acknowledge the honor and respect granted to them by the two adult wizards and one witch while the two ladies had merely glanced downwards as was appropriate to their stations, being unsure exactly what noble titles were represented by the three now showing such respect to them.

Gryffindor looked at his fellow Founders, noting their nods of agreement, "Please, we are all working for the same goals in this room so let us all go by first names. However since we only know you by Daddy, Grandpa and Grandma, I will admit that we are at somewhat of a disadvantage. I know that Grandpa is the Headmaster, Grandma is the Deputy Headmistress, and Daddy is the Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House but that is about the extent of our knowledge. Also our young one was adopted and now has the name of Shaun Severus Snape; but we are unaware of his birth name or magical heritage, though we have strong suspicions about that."

Rowena softly chided her husband, "Please by seated, no need to remain standing so formally. We are all family here, with the name of Hogwarts binding us all together."

Severus was watching the emotions flicker across the painted face of Salazar as Godric and Albus were talking. He was surprised to find doubt and even a flash of hurt and longing to belong, something he was well acquainted with from his own childhood and school days. Something he was happy to see less and less of on his son's own face and he hoped his own face.

Severus stepped up to the portrait of the founder of his own house and bowed once again, "Lord Slytherin, Salazar, I bring the greetings and well wishes of your house to you. I am pleased and immensely honored to greet the man I consider to be a personal inspiration and a major reason I studied potions so diligently. Thank you for your contributions and your inspiration." He bowed once more, even deeper and allowed his eyes to drop to the floor, signifying deep trust and respect; after all, bowing to an opponent did not mean one would ever take your eyes off of them.

Salazar looked astonished, pleased and subtly honored at the respect and acceptance being granted him by the younger wizard. He bowed in return, dropping his own eyes and wished he could shake hands with the mortal man. He did grant him a very rare, but nonetheless real smile that actually reached his startlingly dark brown eyes, something his usually sardonic or even malicious smiles rarely did.

Severus turned and took a seat beside Albus on one of the couches that faced the four portraits. Minerva had sat on the other side of the Headmaster and as soon as Severus sat down, Shaun left Albus' lap and climbed onto his Daddy, giving the man a hug around the neck and a slightly wet slobbery kiss on the cheek before turning around, kneeling on Severus' lap so he could continue to hug his Daddy's neck in security.

The seven adults laughed at the boy's antics, and then Albus started the conversation, "This lovely witch to my left is Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and our Transfiguration Professor. Shaun's Daddy is Professor Severus Sebastian Snape, Potion's Master, First Grade and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts. His son Shaun was born Harry James Potter, son of James Potter and Lily Evans Potter, who were murdered by a very dark wizard when Shaun was just fifteen months old. Shaun was hit by an Avada Kedavra curse, which he somehow miraculously survived." The four paintings looked startled and then each grew angry at the idea of trying to kill such an innocent baby.

Helga spoke for the first time, "How is that possible? That curse separates the soul from the mortal body in an instant and there is no way to hold the soul long enough for any healing to occur!"

Salazar added, "We know of no shield, no spell, and no potion to block that spell. Has one been found since our time?"

Albus just shook his head, "No, and that's why his survival is so miraculous. No one alive knows exactly what happened that Halloween night. We can only speculate as to how and why Shaun survived."

Rowena questioned, "If no one alive witnessed, perhaps the spell missed the baby?"

Severus reached up to his son's head and gently brushed his hair off of his small forehead, exposing the famous lightening bolt shaped scar. The newer scars that normally hid it from any but the closest inspection were absent within this chamber. He added, "And the spell rebounded upon the dark lord, separating him from his mortal body and sending his soul into bodiless exile. Unfortunately he had performed a number of very dark spells and rituals, including blood potions to make his soul survive. We know he exists today, but none know exactly were or even how he does."

Godric looked thoughtful as he mused, "That is perhaps a subject best put aside for the nonce. We have several other subjects that are much more pressing for the limited time that we have this evening. Perhaps, my lovely wife will begin?"

Rowena slipped from her own frame and entered her husbands, sitting comfortably on the wide arm of his heavy chair, his arm comfortably supporting her around the waist as she leaned her head over to gently lay it upon the top of his head momentarily before sitting up and smiling delicately at their first visitors in centuries. She repeated the story of the old wizard saving and raising the two orphans and how he had adopted them as his own children and trained them lovingly and wisely.

Salazar bent his head in shame and sorrow of his past mistakes as he told them the story of the death of his wife and two daughters, of how he and his son, also named Salazar, had left the school, vowing revenge against all muggle born and the destruction of the school that he had helped found. "But after several years had passed, my old friend Godric searched me out and ambushed me. He kept me bound long enough to finally talk some sense into my head before leaving me to sort things out in solitude. It took some time, but eventually, I returned to Hogwarts, begging my former colleagues and friends to forgive me, which much to my surprise, they did. I returned to teach here and made Hogwarts my home until my death many long years later."

"But I was never able to convince my son. I had poisoned his mind and the loss and grief at the death of his mother and sisters, warped him so much that he became evil. I have had centuries to come to realize that I am not completely at fault for his choices, but I still feel deep shame at being the instrument that began the split between muggle born, half-bloods and pure bloods, if there actually _is _such a person, since we all come from non-magical ancestors at some point."

"I was so deep in shock and grief that I needed someone to blame. I really blamed myself for not being able to brew a cure in time for my own family when I had managed to cure most of the others, that I blamed the child. And the guiltier I felt, the more I grew angry at the child who unknowingly and innocently brought such devastation to my family. My son was just thirteen when his mother and sisters died, I was too deep in my own bitter rage to help him deal with the loss and then I took him and isolated us from the only family and home that he had ever known. I failed him and in failing him, let loose a twisted and embittered spirit whose vitriol still splits our world to this day."

All three of the other founders had moved into Salazar's frame and were standing behind him, each touching him in support and love as his voice cracked with emotions still strong a thousand years later. Helga leaned down and kissed his cheek, "Salazar, it was Sal's choices that have made him who he became. You are not at blame, lord knows how many times over the years you tried to reach that boy. Let it go, we need you and your help to heal the rift before the wizarding world tears itself apart and ceases to exist."

Salazar nodded at his three friends before the four turned their attention back to their visitors. The four Founders moved into Lady Rowena's frame to take seats in the chairs that were painted around her. Salazar's eyes seemed to glisten in the painted firelight but no other emotion was now visible.

Godric continued the tale, repeating the prophecy to the three adults as Shaun lay down; Niveus nestled over him, covering him in a bizarre feather blanket with her wings spread protectively over him. Fawkes perched on the back of the couch, reaching his long crimson neck down to nuzzle his love as she protected and warmed their 'hatchling'.

Godric explained, "We believe that Shaun is the child of prophecy, and since the torque, the phoenix box and Niveus have accepted him as such, there is little doubt that he is the 'Child of Light'. The torque has allowed Merlin to appear in his sleep to teach him and guide him, he is also, somehow, present in Shaun's mind at all times, I believe as a second conscience, providing comfort and guidance at all times. I'm not completely sure how that works, but Merlin has assured us it works and it will continue to work whenever Shaun needs him there."

Severus had been growing increasingly pale as the Founders continued their tale, "**NO!** _He is my child_; he cannot be destined to fight that monster. _I will not allow him_, it's too dangerous!" His voice was almost shrill in his hot denial of more danger to the child; he had suffered enough in his short lifetime for anyone. "He's just **_five years old_**, he's been orphaned, his parents murdered as he watched, and hit with a killing curse, left with abusive relatives who emotionally and physically abused him. This past year he was so scarred and scared that he was invisible, he's had several near death injuries, been poisoned and had his power of empathy explode, now you want him to be the blasted savior of wizardry? **_NO, I WON'T ALLOW IT!_**" He had leaped to his feet, pacing in agitation in front of the portraits, his voice raising as he became increasingly volatile. He ended his pacing in front of the couch with the two phoenixes and his son. He roughly pushed Niveus off and snatched up the sleeping boy, clutching him to his heaving chest in fear and protection.

Albus and Minerva had joined the agitated wizard and enveloped him in their arms in support and encouragement. It had been overwhelming to them to find out poor little Shaun's destiny but they both recognized that they needed to be strong to support both Severus and Shaun. His father's tight grasp woke the boy and he struggled to make his father release him. "Daddy, what's wrong. You're hurting me." Shaun wriggled as best he could in the iron grip his father had around him. He looked up, surprised to find his father's face streaked with tears as his daddy sobbed heartbroken into his hair. "Daddy? Daddy?" He looked over his shoulder at his Grandpa and asked, "Grandpa? What's wrong with Daddy?"

Albus stoked the small back being clutched so tightly as he rubbed Severus' back in the same motion. "Your Daddy is upset about the prophecy that Godric just told him. And he is worried about keeping you safe from the evil wizard that killed your Mum and Daddy James when you were a baby."

Shaun just nodded his head in understanding as he kissed his daddy's cheek and reached up a small hand to wipe away the beloved man's tears in sympathy and love. "It's okay Daddy, I understand and Merlin says I will be well trained and much older before that man comes back. It's okay Daddy, I love you and I would never leave you." Shaun reached his arms up and hugged Severus back, finally getting through enough to the distraught man to get him to release his too tight arms a bit. Albus and Minerva steered the two over to sit them down again, squeezing in on either side so the four were now on one couch. The Founder's had been talking softly amongst themselves to allow the mortals some privacy.

Minerva stood and walked over to the two Snapes, reaching a weathered but still graceful hand out to gently stroke up and down on Shaun's back. She ruffled his long, disheveled hair in affection while addressing the younger man. "Why don't you let me take young Shaun back to your rooms so that you can discuss what needs to be discussed without him here. I am sure that Albus can fill me in on everything relevant later, and he doesn't need to be here."

Severus looked up at the older witch gratefully, hugging Shaun and kissing the baby soft cheek once before reluctantly handing the child over to her. Minerva expertly sat him on one hip, reaching for Fawkes who had flown up to hover beside her, flashing his tail feathers invitingly at her. Minerva bounced Shaun once, settling him safely within her firm grasp before clutching a magnificent crimson feather. The small group disappeared in a flash of bright red and gold flames, leaving the two wizards to finish their discussion with the four portraits.

* * *

The meeting had not gone well. Albus and three of the Founder's had tried to reason with both Salazar and Severus but it had rapidly disintegrated into a shouting match between the two hard headed and stubborn men. Severus was currently pacing in agitation back and forth in front of the life size painting of the Founder of Slytherin House, his voice beginning to show signs of strain as he shouted at the equally agitated painting.

"**He will not be the _'Savior of the whole bloody wizarding world'!_ He is my son, and if I have to take him and disappear off of the face of the bleeding planet to protect him, than that's what I will do!"**

"**It's his destiny! There's no one else you prick!"**

"**Find yourself some one else's son! You can't have mine! He's too little!"**

"**Well, it's not like he's going to have to duel the bastard next week, is it?" **Salazar screamed sarcastically, his face snarling in emotion.

"**It's your freaking descendant that's the problem! You take care of him! Not my son!"** Severus' voice had lost some of its volume but none of it's menace.

Salazar was even more sarcastic, **"Well if I could I would you dolt! Now shut up and listen to your betters, boy!"**

Albus had grabbed Severus by the shoulders and forced him backwards to sit down on the couch again, refusing to let the man up to begin pacing and screaming again.

"Severus, you need to calm down, son. We need to plan. No one wants Shaun hurt and I would kill Voldemort myself before I let him hurt one hair on that precious head! You know that, now calm down and listen." Not only was there no twinkle in the old man's eyes, he was letting his exasperation and frustration at the situation show clearly upon his wizened face. He released one shoulder and used his now free hand to wipe his eyes tiredly, pushing his half moon spectacle up on his forehead before sitting down beside the man he considered a son.

Severus was still glaring at the Founder, wishing deeply that he could pull a wand and incinerate the oil painting. Godric had forced Salazar into a chair in Rowena's painting and was trying to calm down his fuming contemporary. "Salazar, this isn't helping. Let the poor man have some time to assimilate all the information we've been telling him. Think how you would have felt if someone told you that your five year old son had to kill an evil wizard. You would have killed the messenger, and we both know it!"

Salazar's face lost some of its red fury and he blinked, managing to reduce the hostility in his expression slightly. He allowed Rowena and Helga to calm him down, still unwilling to admit he might have been in the wrong. Helga pulled a vial out of her voluminous yellow robe and forced it into Salazar's mouth. He glared at the witch, "I don't need a calming potion, you idiot! I'm a painted portrait, _I don't breathe, I don't have a heart, I am NOT alive_, you meddlesome biddy! And I heard that, you old goat!" The last was said to Godric's almost inaudible, "You never did have a heart, even when you were alive, you barmy old coot!"

Severus was still steaming with agitation, but he had managed to calm down enough to listen to the words that Albus had continued to tell him, scarcely paying any attention to the interplay amongst the paintings. "Now, can we continue this discussion, or do we need to leave and return another day?" Albus gently prodded the distraught man sitting beside him on the ancient sofa.

Severus took several deep shuddering breaths before raising his head and looking his mentor and friend in the eyes. "No, I think I can continue without blowing up again. I am truly sorry Albus, but it is overwhelming and frightening to imagine my son going up against that bastard. I chose my role to actively work against him, but, blast it all, I wasn't just _five years old!"_ His face fell in despondency and grief at the hardships that life seemed to heap upon the poor boys fragile shoulders.

The two mortals turned to face the legendary Founders once again. Godric exchanged a meaningful glance at Albus before he began the discussion again, hoping they could make it through the basic information without either of the two potion's masters exploding once again.

* * *

Albus was sipping a bracing Irish tea with Minerva after they had settled the two Snapes into bed, having forced both of them to drink a vial of Dreamless Sleep. Severus had only agreed to the edict after being promised that he would be fed the antidote by Nippy who was watching over the two sleepers if Shaun needed him for any reason. Both Severus and Shaun had insisted in sleeping in Severus' oversized four poster bed, clutching tight to each other for comfort and solace in their agitation.

Albus put down his now empty tea cup on the small table in front of the couch on which he sat beside Minerva. He stared into the flames of the smoldering embers in the fireplace in front of them, gathering his thoughts to organize them before beginning the tale. He sighed at the unfairness of life and turned to look at his old friend and began.

"As it was explained to me, the things that Tom Riddle did to preserve his soul and allow him to be reborn at some time have created a great imbalance in the forces of fate, destiny and nature. Everything must be in balance, to have life, one must have death. When Tom cheated destiny and broke the chain he created a chasm that must be repaired or chaos will prevail. It was his destiny to be destroyed when he cast the Killing Curse on Harry Potter. When he did not die, he tore a hole in the fabric of nature and that hole must be repaired as it grows larger every day. It will eventually destroy our world if it is allowed to continue."

"It was foretold over a century ago by Rowena, who was a True Seer, that one day, far in the future, the Heir of Gryffindor and the Heir of Slytherin would meet once again in a great battle and the fate of the wizarding world would rest upon their shoulders. That battle took place upon October 31, 1981 and if fate and death had not been thwarted, the natural order of life would not now be threatened. The death of Tom Riddle was to usher in a century of peace and prosperity to all wizards, but by cheating death, he has threatened the very existence of our entire planet, magical and non-magical both."

"So in order to restore balance, an equally powerful and opposite force was created to maintain balance within nature. And Shaun, Harry Potter if you will, is that force. He has been born the Child of Light, loved and nurtured by the Creature of Night, whom the Founders believe to be Severus, since his life experiences and the dark mark both have touched and stained his soul. But the child's magic was forced to become active much too early for him to handle and control it. The backlash of the killing curse forced his magic outward to catch his soul and rebind it to his body before he could be killed. His mother's sacrifice allowed a split second of protection to his soul, and then his own magical powers flared and reattached his soul to his body. But there was no way for his magic to return to being dormant as every other magical child's is until they are old enough and mature enough to handle that much power."

"Merlin worked for decades to build and spell the Torque that Shaun now wears. It allowed the 'spirit' of Merlin to both bind and help guide Shaun in controlling his powers as well as providing him a safe way to deal with his empathic and powerful magics. Merlin is also helping Shaun deal with his past experiences in a way that no one else could. He can 'stand' beside Shaun in each memory and explain and confront Shaun's feelings in his own mind in a way that no outsider every could. Godric explained that as Shaun gets older and more experienced, Merlin's presence will become less and less; until eventually the Torque will be only a sign of Shaun's heritage and no more than a necklace."

Minerva clasped Albus' hands in hers; she reached forward and gave the old man a chaste kiss on his weathered cheek, her nose tickled by the old man's whiskers. "Oh, Albus, what can we do to help those two poor boys?"

Albus gave a rueful chuckle, "You would have been proud to see Severus stand up to Salazar, but it did get mighty loud at times. If Salazar was alive I do believe it would have been a duel at sunrise between the two. I can't blame Severus though, Salazar was being rather blasé about how difficult Shaun's life has been and will be into the foreseeable future. And Severus was being as protective as an enraged mother bear!"

Minerva leaned forward and refilled their cups with more tea, splashing a touch of whiskey into each before handing one to Albus and leaning back comfortably with her own. "I never would have thought we would ever see the day that Severus Snape would be so protective and full of love for anyone. I shudder when I remember the mask that young man had built around himself. I didn't think anyone would ever break through it, but Shaun certainly has."

Albus smiled, "Yes, and each day Severus becomes easier to live with and more comfortable with showing his own emotions to everyone, not just the boy."

The two talked well into the night, sometimes touching upon the difficulties that lay ahead, sometimes talking about school matters, but most of the time, just watching the dying embers in companionable and comfortable silence.

* * *

AN: I hope to post one more chapter before I leave for ten days, but I am not sure about my time next week. Thank you for reading and reviewing, it keeps my fingers typing! 


	16. Chapter 16: Meetings and Greetings

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: To download any of my stories, click on my author name at the top of this page and then click on homepage. You may read messages, leave messages, and take the poll without signing in, but you must sign into Yahoo to download the stories. In the sidebar that says members only, just click on files and it will lead you to all three stories, each is available in PDF, e-book and mobipocket formats. Enjoy and please review!

'_Italics'_ is mental speech.

Chapter 16: Meetings and Greetings

Shaun's dreams over the next weeks had helped him heal as Merlin stood beside the small boy, disputing and repudiating the words and harsh treatment he had received at the hands of his Aunt and Uncle. Shaun's dreams now revolved around his 'family' and friends instead of the traumas that had tormented his nights for so long.

Albus and Severus spent time each afternoon in the Chamber of the Founders, which now had a door in a previously dead ended corridor off the sixth floor, just past the gargoyle that concealed the entrance to the Headmaster's tower. With the help of Godric and Rowena, Albus and Minerva were planning to re-establish and greatly strengthen the wards around the castle, to make a solid fortress of security and safety for the children once again. Over the past century, some of the original wards had failed and the knowledge of how to cast them had been lost.

Severus and Salazar were holding a semi-civil conversation about the new werewolf cure that Severus was working so diligently upon. So far he had been unable to duplicate the healing power of the original one that Remus had accidentally been given.

"I have duplicated the potion completely, and it is much more powerful and strengthening than the original Wolfsbane potion, but it still lacks the curative properties of the one that Lupin took. And I am frustrated and stymied as to what I am missing!"

Salazar rubbed his face in deep thought as he pondered the frustrated words of the fellow potions master who was pacing agitatedly back and forth in front of his painting.

"Perhaps it is not what you are brewing, but how you are brewing it?" Salazar offered. "Or perhaps it requires some sort of empathy from Shaun to complete the brewing. Was he present, or did he touch the ingredients in any way prior to brewing?"

Severus plopped onto the ancient red leather couch and dropped his face into both hands, his elbows propped up on his knees as he thought back to everything that had happened during that hectic and stressful month. "Yes, Shaun was with me while I was brewing, and he had to have touched the phoenix ashes several times, first gathering them into his pocket and then again when he placed them into the jar. And in fact, I was slightly upset with him because he kept humming while I was brewing and it was terribly distracting to me." He raised his head and looked at the painting, "Do you think his affinity to the phoenix and touching the ashes could have the curative power that I cannot find?"

Salazar looked thoughtful before answering, "I know that he is much closer to the phoenixes than anyone I have ever seen before. Godric, Merlin's animagus form was a phoenix, was he able to communicate with the other birds while in human form? And did his animagus form have all of the magical properties of a real phoenix?"

Godric looked over from where he had been discussing ways to keep any unauthorized animagus from entering school grounds and blinked in surprise. "As far as I know, he had all of the abilities of a true phoenix, and I do know that he was very close to his familiar, whom I believe was an ancestor of Niveus. But I don't remember if he could talk to them in human form. Unfortunately, painted portraits don't have all of the memories of their mortal counterparts. We are but a shade, or an echo, of the person that we were in real life." He explained to the two men before turning to his cousin, "Helga, do you remember?"

The witch in the bright yellow robe looked up from the flower bed she had been tending in her portrait and looked dubiously at her cousin and fellow Founder, "I honestly don't remember either Godric, but it seems like he might have been able to. Why don't you ask young Shaun to ask him?"

Godric blushed slightly as he admitted sheepishly, "I forgot the spirit of Merlin is imbued within the Torque the child wears. Perhaps you might consult with the child for your answer, gentlemen."

Before they could act on the suggestion, or even discuss it, a flash of blue white light signaled the arrival of Niveus with Shaun giggling underneath her. He waited for the white and blue phoenix to disentangle her claws from his robes before rushing over to hug first his 'Grandpa' and then his Daddy. "Grandma Minerva says to 'get your carcasses out of this room and into the Great Hall for lunch!'" He giggled again and whispered conspiratorially, "She looks really red in the face because you forget that the Governors are here for lunch to discuss the budget and now you're late and she's starting to hiss like a cat at them!" He giggled once again as both men went pale and muttered under their breath in unison.

Without another word, Severus scooped up his son and followed Albus out of the door, their long legs making the long walk down to the Great Hall in near record time.

* * *

Shaun had been plopped unceremoniously into his elevated seat between his daddy and his grandpa as they made hurried apologies to their distinguished guests. Albus was soothing and trying to calm the irate Governors that had been waiting for him to appear for over half an hour. Even with the Torque blocking most of his empathic powers, Shaun was still experiencing the feelings of anger, frustration and downright hostility from some of the Board members. He shut his eyes tightly and called '_Merlin, are you there? Can you help me?_' The emotional overload he was feeling was making his small stomach churn with nausea and it was hurting and burning.

The familiar and comforting form of Merlin appeared within his mind, calming the agitated child with his soothing presence. _'You can do it, child, just think soothing and peaceful thoughts. Think of sitting quietly, watching a smoldering fire, sipping hot chocolate while Daddy reads you a story. That's right, that's calm and soothing.'_

Shaun's breathing deepened and evened as the small wrinkles of anxiety disappeared from his face. A small, satisfied smile barely touched his lips as he concentrated on the image that Merlin had called forth. With a shudder, the tension left his muscles and he relaxed back into his chair, at peace once more. _'Like that Merlin?' _he asked.

'_Exactly! Now, see if you can spread a little calmness to this room and help the others to feel good. That's it, just push the feeling out until you can feel it in your skin…just keep pushing gently…that's right…now past your skin and out into the room. That's excellent, my boy, just right. I'm so proud of you! You did that just right and on your first try too.'_

'_But isn't it wrong to make other people feel the way I want them to?'_ the small boy asked innocently.

'_The people in the room are only being calmed, if they were intent upon staying agitated, they would be able to stay that way. It is much like a phoenix song, if someone truly does not want to be calmed, the trill of a phoenix will have no lasting effect upon them. You have that ability within you, just like all phoenixes' do. And I know that you will only use it to help people, because I can see within your heart and your soul and you won't abuse the power.'_

'_Why did you call me a phoenix? And why do Fawkes and Niveus call me 'hatchling'?'_

'_Because child, one day when you are much older, your animagus form will be a phoenix, just as mine was. That is why they call you 'hatchling' as they think of you as their child who cannot yet fly. And when you have matured enough you will become their 'fledgling child' just as I did. That is why you can understand their speech and why you can soothe and calm other people. Now why don't you eat your lunch and later we will talk about this some more.'_

Shaun opened his eyes and looked around at the now calm group. The adults in the room were making civil small talk as they enjoyed the delicious lunch the house elves had provided and he noticed that both Albus and Minerva were looking very relieved at the now genial group. Shaun finished up his lunch, climbed up on his Daddy's lap and went to sleep as the very boring budget talk flowed uncomprehendingly through his flagging consciousness. He woke with his head on his daddy's shoulder as he was being carried back to his room, half listening to the adults talk as he decided whether he wanted to wake up fully or just go back to sleep.

Albus let out a deep, shuddering sigh as he placed a friendly hand upon his Deputy Headmistress' shoulder and turned to look at her over his half moon spectacles. "I do apologize, Minerva. Godric and I got deeply into the wards protecting Hogwarts and how we could update and strengthen them and I lost all track of time. I would not have left you to try to calm that pack of hungry wolves else wise."

She nodded her head, accepting his apology and shook her head in amazement, "I understand. I am somewhat shocked at how quickly the Board settled down once you arrived. And I am downright speechless that they approved the budget almost completely intact. You know I always overestimate everything in hopes of not losing too much when we negotiate, but it seems they didn't even want to negotiate this year; they just accepted it as submitted. Has that ever occurred before, Albus?"

"Not in my tenure as Headmaster, or I think in Headmaster Dippet's reign either. I would have to inquire of the portraits in my office to check further back." The old man chuckled and continued, "So what shall we do with the extra money that they agreed so heartily to?"

Severus had noticed his son's body was no longer slack against his shoulder and chest. "Shaun, were you all right with the emotions in the room when we arrived? I noticed you flinch when we entered the room but then I became too distracted to pay attention to you. I am sorry, I hope you know that you could have climbed up on my lap or gotten my attention if you needed to leave the room because of the emotions in it."

The three stopped walking down the corridor and all turned their attention to the small form still clutching his father's robes.

"I was at first, but Merlin came and taught me how to calm down and then how to calm down the room too. He said it was like a phoenix song." Shaun sat up on his daddy's arm as he remembered the rest of their talk. "Daddy, he said I was going to be a phoenix as my anim..ani…my animal like Moony and Padfoot have. He said that's why I can understand Niveus and Fawkes when they talk to me! And it's why they call me 'hatchling' all the time. I'm gonna be a phoenix!" All traces of sleep disappeared in the boy's excitement as he bounced up and down on his father's arm.

Albus placed a hand upon the boy's back as he asked, "So, he taught you to calm everyone down like a phoenix does? Shaun, you must be very careful how you use this power in the future, it would not do to influence people's emotions without their consent."

Shaun nodded in understanding, "That's what Merlin explained when I asked him if it was okay. He said that people could still choose to not be calm and so it was okay to use it, but I should be careful and only use it when everyone's really upset or angry so much that they aren't thinking right."

Minerva smiled as she noticed the identical proud expressions on the two men as Shaun explained that he had asked the same question of Merlin. She ruffled Shaun's hair as his daddy hugged him in approval. Albus looked thoughtful. "I suppose our answer to earlier has been answered. If Shaun has the powers of phoenix song than his humming as you brewed the Wolfsbane potion most likely transformed the potion into a cure for Remus. That is most likely the missing ingredient."

Severus looked immensely pleased as he looked down on the raven head snuggled against his chest. He took his free hand and used two long and elegant fingers to raise the small chin until the boy was looking directly into his proud eyes. "Well, Shaun, how would you like to help Daddy brew potions this afternoon? And you can sing all you want and Daddy won't say anything about it!"

With a wide giggling grin, Shaun nodded his head vigorously. "And I can sing Barney and Itsy, Bitsy Spider and…"

Severus rolled his eyes in defeat and heaved a long suffering sigh as he agreed and began walking down the corridor once again. The four had reached the portrait guarding the Snape's quarters as they talked. Severus waited a few moments, clearly waiting for Albus and Minerva to leave before saying the password but they didn't take the hint and waited patiently until with another exaggerated roll of his eyes he gave up and said the password. "Fluffy, pink bunnies!" His mouth twisted with disgust at having to issue such frivolity.

When Albus and Minerva burst out laughing, Severus muttered darkly as he carried his son into their home. "That's the last time I let the little brat chose the password!"

* * *

Classes with the day school were progressing as the children learned and played together. Sirius' history lessons never lost their magic of 'stories' and 'fairy tales' even though they were all fact. Remus had managed to catch everyone but Luna up on counting and simple additions. Luna was easily distracted and didn't see the need for addition beyond what she could count on her fingers until one day she was playing near Shaun and Blaise who were throwing a handful of stones at the Giant Squid in the Hogwarts Lake while being watched by Sirius and Grandpa Albus as all the children had taken to calling him after the honorific that Shaun had bestowed upon the elderly wizard.

Blaise was explaining to Shaun that he had won the game since he had skipped the stone three times plus two times plus two times and Shaun had only skipped it two times and three times and then only once. Luna stopped twirling with the butterflies that liked to swirl around her long wispy blonde hair and looked pensive. "Ah, three plus two plus two is more than two plus three plus one. Got it!" She went back to twirling and had no further problems with simple additions. Blaise, Shaun, Sirius and Albus all looked gobsmacked before laughing and continuing their game with the squid.

One of the rooms that had been magicked onto Remus and Sirius' quarters turned out to be an indoor playground complete with a heated magical water slide. Professor Flitwick had gone overboard in designing and conjuring the elaborate tubes, slides and pools that defied gravity. Soft pillars of air wafted the child from the floor effortlessly up to the top of the slides and then a twisting, turning, uphill and downhill path ended in a large splash into a body temperature swimming pool. It had taken several weeks to teach them all to swim but in the end they all became as lithe as little otters as they squealed and swam to their hearts content.

Sirius had been teaching them the basic elements of tae kwon do and Madame Hooch had turned out to be moderately proficient in muggle gymnastics which she readily taught to the eager students.

But Shaun thought the best class by far was potions with his Daddy. So far they had learned a lot about the different ingredients and why you stirred one way or the other, and how to be safe and all the other things his Daddy thought you needed to know. But today they were actually getting to brew something! Daddy was going to teach them how to brew a potion that made your hair turn funny colors! Daddy said he could use it on Grandpa but only if he could sneak it into his drink without him finding out.

Shaun was carefully chopping his dandelion root into equal and exact pieces as he glanced over and watched Luna and Terry drop too much snail snot into their potion, causing the cauldron they were sharing to explode into flying shards. Shaun flung his arms up and over his head, deflecting the hot potion from the other students and their cauldrons but he was too slow to completely shield Terry and Luna from the scalding hot liquid. Luna fell to the ground whimpering in pain at the burns on her arms and chest while Terry shrieked in agony as the potion had burned his neck and the side of his face.

Severus flicked his wand out of his arm holster and with a swish emptied everyone's cauldrons. His yell combined with Terry's loud cries alerted Sirius that something was terribly wrong in the classroom and he came running, yelling over his shoulder at Moony to get Dumbledore.

Sirius scooted all of the unhurt children into the indoor gym, leaving Severus to handle the two that had been burned. It took less than a minute for Albus to step through the floo after being called and he and Severus each carried a child down to the infirmary as Remus joined Sirius in distracting the five on the climbing equipment.

Poppy wasn't in residence at the castle, she had decided to visit her sister in Italy once again, but Severus was well qualified as a healer, after all it was a good portion of being Shaun's Daddy, that boy got injured and hurt more often than a professional Quidditch player!

After cleaning off the burns with a soothing wash of Murtlap Essence, a thick layer of bright orange Burn Paste was applied and the two nearly hysterical children were fed a mild calming potion and tucked into the hospital beds to heal while they slept. Albus left them in Severus' capable hands while he went to notify Luna's parents and Terry's mother about the accident.

Oddgard Lovegood arrived with Albus in less than half an hour, eager to see that his daughter was all right and he swiftly scooped up the sleeping child. He nodded to see that her burns were all healed, only a small amount of new pink skin showing where they had been. After receiving reassurances from both Albus and Severus that Luna would be completely healed he promised that she would return in the morning, after a long discussion about the importance of paying attention while brewing, that is. Luna was awake and calmly holding her father's hand as they left the infirmary to return home.

Melissa Boot ran frantically into the infirmary just as the Lovegoods were leaving and searched until she saw her son still sleeping, looking so small in the large white infirmary bed. She collapsed into the chair beside the bed, almost in hysterics about her son being hurt. Severus sat on the bed next to Terry's and took her hand into his as he explained what had happened and how he had treated the child's burns.

"Terry's burns were slightly worse than Luna's since most of hers were blocked by the fabric of her robes, but he will be completely recovered in just a couple of hours. Even the pink left on his neck and face will be faded by tomorrow and there will be no scars from it." Severus had stood up beside the boy to show his mother the slightly pink spots still left and was totally flabbergasted when the woman leaped from her chair, flung her arms around his neck and started sobbing gratefully into the shoulder of his robes. He stood for a moment, unsure of exactly what he should be doing until he thought of what Shaun liked him to do when he was so upset. He moved his arms awkwardly around the sobbing woman, tightened his grip slightly and began to pat her back reassuringly. "It's all right. He's going to be just fine." He didn't know where the comforting words were coming from, but apparently they were the right ones because Mrs. Boot was calming down somewhat.

She looked up at the tall, slender man holding her so comfortingly and blushed, trying to explain. "After Terry's father died last year, he's all I have. My parents died in the last war and my husband, Michael, was an orphan at the age of fifteen, so Terry is all I have. I just got a message at work that Terry had been hurt and the message didn't say how badly, or what, so I guess I just panicked and…" Her voice cracked with emotion and she looked away, trying to hide the tears that threatened to begin again.

Severus smiled down at the red eyed, much calmer woman and shrugged. "That's all right, I understand. I am new at being a parent, as I've only had Shaun for a year, but believe me, when he is sick or injured, I have been brought to tears myself, though I will deny that with my last dying breath if you mention it to another soul!" His eyes lit up as he saw a small smile creep onto the woman's face. He thought to himself of how pretty she was with her long deep brown hair pulled back from her face and her light brown eyes, even if they were slightly red and bloodshot from crying.

He stepped back from her and pulled a monogrammed handkerchief from his robe pocket. Wordlessly he offered it to her. She ducked her head and shyly wiped her eyes and face, grimacing at the smeared make-up on the pristine white of the fine linen. "Sorry, I don't usually become a fountain, I just was so worried."

Severus ran a wand over the sleeping boy and then nodded in satisfaction. "Nippy!"

"Yes, Master Snape, how's can Nippy serve you?"

"I need you to watch over Terry while he sleeps and come and tell me if he wakes up. He should sleep for another four hours with that potion, but you will notify me if he stirs."

Nippy nodded in acknowledgement of his orders before crossing his arms and planting his feet in a determined stance, ready to protect his young charge.

Severus bowed slightly, offering an elegant arm to the young widow. "Tea, Mrs. Boot? Nippy is quite good at babysitting as he is frequently in charge of my son, Shaun."

"Please, call me Missy, everyone does, and I would love to have some tea. Thank you, Professor Snape."

"Severus, please." The two left the infirmary, arm in arm, already talking pleasantly of the trials and tribulations of single parenthood as they walked to Severus' quarters for some much needed tea and understanding companionship.

* * *

AN: Sorry it's short, but I have been very busy. My husband's birthday was March 26th, my niece's was the 27th, my son's is April 4th, my grandson's is the 7th, and my daughter-in-law's is the 11th. So we had a house party for twelve all last weekend, Friday through Monday. Now I leave on a 7 am flight Thursday morning to Denver, Co for a week, fly on to Oklahoma City for another week and then fly home to Washington State. So it will be a while before I update.

AN: Who wants a budding relationship between Missy and Severus? Or would you rather she stay a minor character? Let me know which you prefer.


	17. Chapter 17: The Cure

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: To download any of my stories, click on my author name at the top of this page and then click on homepage. You may read messages, leave messages, and take the poll without signing in, but you must sign into Yahoo to download the stories. In the sidebar that says members only, just click on files and it will lead you to all three stories, each is available in PDF, e-book and mobipocket formats. Enjoy and please review!

AN: I was flabbergasted at the response to the last chapter, 94 reviews! That's the most for any chapter of a WIP and any other chapter of any story except the final one that people review after the entire story. Thanks, your support keeps me typing.

'_Italics'_ is mental speech.

Chapter 17: The Cure

Severus was methodically adding the carefully shredded aconite to the bubbling potion, totally oblivious to what Shaun was singing in the background as the small boy colored with his magical crayons on several sheets of thick parchment strewn about on the laboratory floor. Before beginning the immensely complicated formula for the new Werewolves cure potion, Severus had carefully placed a magical barrier delineating the safe distance from the potentially toxic fumes of the cauldrons and showing Shaun the distance he must stay back to keep completely safe just in case Severus accidentally exploded a cauldron, of course, he hadn't exploded a cauldron in years, but he would take no chances with his son's well-being.

'Twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!' as he finished counting the counter-clockwise strokes to complete the current stage of brewing, Severus stood up, over extending his back to produce a series of welcome pops to his much abused vertebrae as he stretched gratefully. Now he had fifteen minutes to catch his breath, wipe the sweat off of his brow, slice the next two ingredients for the potions and check up on his son.

Severus' heart clenched in joy as he finally comprehended exactly what his son was singing in his clear, sweet childish soprano voice.

"I love you, You love me, We're a happy family…" He blinked rapidly as his heart swelled, Shaun really thought that about them he knew, but it was different hearing it said so blatantly and sung so sweetly.

Severus turned back to slicing and grinding his ingredients, but gradually as the time slowly passed, the warmth in his heart was being overwhelmed by the gritting, grinding agitation of his jaw clenching and grinding his teeth in agitation and frustration. 'Yes the boy loves me, but must he sing that blasted song forty times in a row, what's wrong with singing _another song_ once in a while!'

Forcing himself to remain calm and rational, Severus looked at Shaun and gently inquired of the boy, "Can't you sing anything else but that **dratted drivel**? Just choose another song, any other song, **_NOW_**!"

Severus had reached another brief respite when he turned on his son and blasted once again, "No, I DON'T KNOW the way to SESAME STREET! Nor do I ever want to visit that bloody muggle place! Now sing something else!"

By the end of a very long afternoon of tense brewing, Severus had discovered the hard way that Shaun only knew a few songs, and he didn't particularly know any of them through or even all of the _correct words _to the few that he had learned through the door of his cupboard as his fat cousin watched the telly. Severus thought through his massive headache that he was positive there were different words than, 'Jimmie cracked corn and I don't care, Jimmy cracked, and I don't care…' twenty times in a row and he surely never wanted to find out exactly what a 'telly tubbie' was!

Shaun ran into Remus' arms after leaving the potions lab, nearly in tears after his father's increasingly short temper was flooding his empathic abilities even with the dampening powers of the torque. He buried his head into the man's familiar shoulder, tears freely falling down his cheeks as he stuttered and sobbed his explanation of what had happened.

"D-d-d-daddy's m-m-mad and I j-j-just was s-s-s-singing like he w-w-w-wanted me to!"

Severus plopped heavily into his favorite chair, waved his wand at a bottle of firewhiskey and a large goblet on the sideboard to summon them to him, poured a stiff drink and heaved a deep sigh as he swallowed the first burning mouthful. "Tomorrow, Remus you are beginning music classes for the day school!"

Remus chuckled from the sofa where he was holding and consoling a now almost asleep child, the powerful emotions and worry having worn the boy out to the point of exhaustion. "Are you telling me Lilly's son can't sing? Why, she had a beautiful soprano voice, and James could do a creditable accompaniment with a pleasant tenor."

Severus tipped his head back in pain and frustration, "No, Shaun has a beautiful clear voice. He just doesn't know ANYTHING to sing!" he growled at the former werewolf in exasperation. Sirius snorted from the next room, blatantly eavesdropping on the conversation.

Sirius laughed snidely as he entered the room through the adjoining doorway, "I'll volunteer to teach him several new songs, Severus!"

Remus and Severus turned on the former Marauder and gave him identical glares while they said in unison, "NO!"

What Severus finished the sentence with was luckily unintelligible but Moony was heard to clearly exclaim that he didn't know who would kill them first, Minerva McGonagall or the other parents!

* * *

Remus had managed to contact three friends who were werewolves and willing to become test subjects for the new potential cure for the following full moon so the testing was put aside until next week. Professor McGonagall had volunteered to come in one afternoon a week and teach the children how to sing and Professor Flitwick had volunteered to teach piano to any of the students who was interested with individual lessons as needed so that the children would have a more well-rounded education. The two professors were also eager to begin teaching small magics to the children to see if they were able to focus and use magic at a younger age than eleven. The age of eleven seemed to be steeped in history so far back that no one actually knew why that age had been chosen, after all, much younger children displayed spurts of accidental magic routinely.

* * *

Albus came to dinner later that week with a bemused expression upon his aged face, his eyes twinkling merrily, almost blinding his colleagues already sitting at the table. He gripped Shaun's hand tightly as he led the small boy to his seat beside his father. Severus snarled at the blasted man as he dished a healthy portion for Shaun and cut his steak and kidney pie into bite sized pieces for the boy.

"What are you so happy about, Albus?" the headache the potion's master was suffering from was clearly apparent to everyone at the table. It was well known that the man suffered from them after a long day of huddling over the heat and fumes of his cauldrons as he replenished the stocks for the hospital wing each summer.

"Now, Severus, no need to be harsh. I was just thinking of the enjoyable afternoons this week that I have been caring for young Shaun here." Albus bent over and kissed the soft black hair of the busily eating child. "He has been enjoying playing 'cards' on the floor while I answer the mail each day this week. Why don't you ask him what he was playing so happily this afternoon, Severus?"

Severus rolled his eyes in impatience, but never the less took the bait, "Shaun, what were you playing this afternoon in Grandpa Albus' office?"

His innocent green eyes shining brightly Shaun swallowed his bite of green beans and looked up at his daddy, "Cemetery, Daddy!"

Minerva choked on her tea, Professor Flitwick gasped and swallowed his bite of steak the wrong way, Poppy Pomfrey alternated glares at the Headmaster with pounding Flitwick on his diminutive back, trying to help him catch his breath. Severus had luckily not been eating or drinking at that precise moment, but he was too shocked to even glare at the elderly mage. Remus and Sirius were leaning on each other, unsure as to whether to scream at the old man or break out in hysterical laughter.

Severus gathered himself before looking at the old man, his eyes wide with astonishment clearly visible on his normally taciturn face. "What were you playing Shaun?" Surely he hadn't heard the boy correctly!

Albus chuckled softly and answered for the boy who had turned back to his dinner. "He was playing 'cemetery' Severus!"

Ten pairs of eyes looked at him as if he had finally lost all of his mental facilities. He laughed at the gobsmacked expressions and gently explained. "On Monday, I taught him how to play 'solitaire' with a muggle deck of playing cards that Arthur Weasley gave to me. By Tuesday he told me he was playing 'solitary' , Wednesday it was 'sanitary' and then today, he informed me he was playing 'cemetery'. I believe it is still the same card game, but I didn't want to question him too closely just in case I was mistaken. You understand my reluctance, I'm sure."

As he ignored the glares, muttered imprecations about his sanity, or lack of, the headmaster reached over and ruffled the dark head before returning to his own most excellent dinner.

* * *

"Just concentrate on clearing your mind. Think of a single color, or a cloud, a pond, the clear blue sky, anything that helps you to relax completely" Remus was teaching the children how to meditate. After a series of conferences with all of the staff members present, minus Filch of course, it had been decided that the easiest way to find out if any of the children besides Shaun were able to consciously control their magic would be best to teach them to meditate and then try a very small wandless magic. So for each afternoon for the last two weeks, Remus had spent twenty to thirty minutes teaching the children to clear their minds of all distractions.

"Now, look deep inside yourself and find your magical core. It should be bright and pulsing with a definite beat, like your heartbeat. When you find it, just raise your hand without opening your eyes and someone will come and help you." Severus, Albus, Minerva, Flitwick and Sirius were all there ready to help each child access their own magical power. They would not need to help Shaun; he had managed to control his magical core several years earlier and now had a resident expert already within his own mind thanks to the presence of Merlin's torque around his small neck.

No one seemed surprised when Luna immediately raised a small, pale hand. Albus was nearest to her and he went to crouch down on the floor next to the soft pillow the young girl was sitting cross legged upon. He placed his hands upon the blonde head and probed her gently, "Yes child, exactly right. Now, picture yourself pulling a strand loose, and pushing it out to your hand. Yes, yes, that's right, no it doesn't matter which hand, whichever one you are most comfortable with." He continued to help and encourage her in the difficult task as Minerva knelt to help Blaise and Sirius did the same for Neville who had raised their hands almost simultaneously.

Remus was still encouraging Susan, Terry and Hannah who hadn't quite managed to imagine their magical core when Luna squealed as her hand lit up with a very soft but still visible 'lumos'. She lost it almost immediately but it had been a very good start and more than any of the adults had really expected anyone to be able to do at their young ages.

Luna was understandably proud of herself as the group headed for the playground for free time before going home for the weekend. Remus called after them, "Don't forget to practice what we were doing here today! I want each of you to be able to visualize your magical core by Monday at least. Have a good weekend!"

* * *

The ministry had sent several observers on the night of the full moon which happened to fall on a Thursday night that August. The three werewolf friends of Remus were understandably nervous eating dinner in the Great Hall of Hogwarts in the presence of the Head of Magical Law Enforcement himself as well as several Aurors.

Remus turned to Randolph, Amos and Draconius. "Now, remember, you are here at our express invitation. You are safe and this will be the last day that you are a werewolf. After tonight your record at the ministry will be expunged from the control lists. You will be free to hold a job, marry, and even have children if you wish."

Randolph pushed his food around on his plate, unsure what the unappetizing brown goo had started out as. "I know, Remus, but it's hard to stop years of hiding and apprehension in a short while. I assure you I am very grateful for this opportunity, and I wouldn't say no to this chance even if it meant I spent the rest of my life in a cell. But I can't help worrying."

Amos and Drake nodded in agreement. "You must admit it's not everyday the Head of the MLF sits down to eat with a trio of werewolves!"

Amos snorted at his companions comment, "Yeah, you got that right!"

Dinner took forever and yet was over much too soon for the three very nervous werewolves as they followed the Hogwarts and Ministry groups down deep into the dungeons and towards a set of prepared secure cells. The three gawped in astonishment to find that the three rooms were equipped with comfortable beds and chairs and not just empty stone chambers.

Severus grouped the three outside their individual chambers to explain once again to the three men exactly what they hoped would happen that evening. "Now, you have each taken the new Wolfsbane potion for the last two evenings, correct?" At their nods he continued. "Each of you will be given the third dose ten minutes before moon rise by a wizard or witch who is an animagus. That person will remain with you in animagus form to help you to change the werewolf into an animagus. We are unsure whether you will become a wolf or if another form is possible. But you will be able to completely control your transformation after this night and will no longer be at the mercy of the lunar cycle. Nor will you transmit the werewolf curse through saliva or any other means."

Minerva took Amos by the arm and helped onto the bed in the first chamber, while Sirius took Drake and Remus helped Randolph into the third chamber. Severus swept into each room, handing out smoking goblets of foul smelling potion to each volunteer.

The rooms had been locked and magically sealed as Severus, carefully watching his ornate pocket watch, announced loudly and clearly from his station in the corridor. "Now, drink the potion, and then lay down upon the bed. Sirius, Minerva, and Remus change shape now and remain in animagus form until I inform you it is safe to change back." He heard a chorus of acknowledgements from each of the three rooms and then the creaking of the beds as the werewolves settled themselves.

The ministry observers were stationed in front of each door, watching closely through an open but barred window as the moonlight slowly crept across the dungeon floor. The enchanted window in each cell accurately portrayed the evening sky exactly. The moonlight touched each man and was immediate in its effect. Three painful screams rent the air from three tormented souls as they flickered back and forth between human and werewolf. Soothing noises of cat, dog and wolf combined with the echoing screams to make a strange cacophony of sounds that echoed along the cold stone corridors and filtered out into the moonlight. The sounds of agony gradually stilled until no sound had been heard for several minutes.

Severus called out to the observers to report, "Observations gentlemen?"

"First room, subject appears to be a large Irish setter. He hasn't changed form for the last ten minutes by my watch. All stable and satisfactory!"

"Good, second room?"

"Subject has stopped shifting and is lying comfortably on the bed, though he appears to be unconscious. Subject has taken the form of a small grey and black striped housecat! Everything satisfactory, sir!"

"Excellent, third room?"

"All satisfactory sir; subject has become a Canadian goose. He appears to be unconscious as well, sir."

"Good, gentlemen and thank you for your assistance. Remus, Minerva, and Sirius, you may shift and begin to wake your subject. Please administer the blue potion followed by the light green one."

The three had each helped the new animagus to swallow their potions, the doors were opened and the three had been successfully shown how to transform back to human in less than an hour.

Needless to say, the trek back up to the Great Hall was considerably more exuberant and buoyant than the trip down had been. Severus was grudgingly bearing the slaps on the back and the heartfelt thanks from the former werewolves and the overbearing and unwelcome congratulations form his colleagues and friends.

Arthur and Albus were standing together in front of the large marble fireplace as Arthur was preparing to floo back to the ministry. "Congratulations once again, Severus! Will you be releasing the formula soon or are you going to keep it proprietary for the time being?"

"I am much too busy with Shaun and school obligations to continue to brew the cure in the amounts and frequencies that it would be required so I will be releasing the formula unless the Ministry would be able to brew and control the transformations from werewolf to animagus? I would rather not have just anyone trying to brew it up to cure themselves so they can slip through registration, especially someone who has been deliberately infecting others in the past."

"Of course, of course, we could set up a controlled brewing and make sure that those who have deliberately infected others are required to have at least some form of punishment for their crimes. I will draw up a plan and get it to you sometime next week, if that is acceptable to you?" At Severus' nod, Arthur waved at the rest of the room and disappeared into the fireplace in a ring of bright green flame. The others all took their leave soon after, leaving only the Hogwarts contingent to quietly celebrate in the much cozier atmosphere of Albus' drawing room.

* * *

As summer drew to a close, all seven of the children in the day school had managed to do a lumos spell using wandless magic. Surprisingly Luna and Terry were the strongest besides Shaun. Neville was the most inconsistent with his magic, leading Albus and Poppy to speculate that perhaps the death eaters who had tortured his parents into insanity had also struck him with at least a mild crucio and somehow damaged his nervous system or his connection to his magical core in some fashion. They were searching for a way to pinpoint any damage that had been done, but in the meantime, Poppy was giving him a mild nerve re-growth potion each week to counteract any nerve damage that might have occurred.

Hannah had finally managed to light up her fingers on the very last Thursday before day school would break for the final three weeks before classes at Hogwarts would begin for the new term. She was the last one to finally control her inner magic and the adults all met that afternoon to celebrate their success and begin to plan for the next year with their young charges.

Filius was bouncing in his excitement, "So we have proven that younger children are able to access and control small magics. Should we continue on with our small core of students or is there some way of expanding this program so that others can learn younger than eleven?"

Albus steepled his fingers under his chin in thought, "I suppose that children younger than eleven were deemed to young for a boarding school and it became entrenched in everyone's mind that children younger than eleven were too young to actually access their magic, but we know that isn't true in most old pureblood households don't we, Severus?"

Severus nodded, "Of course, Headmaster. My own uncle had me doing curses as young as eight. It might have occurred earlier except that my own parents did not encourage the dark arts such as my uncle did. I do not doubt that the majority of my Slytherins are well versed in magics long before their first day at Hogwarts."

Minerva pursed her lips in displeasure and Pomona Sprout looked outraged. "That is certainly unfair when it comes to half bloods and muggle borns! We must do something to even the playing field as it were for all students, Albus!" Pomona exclaimed.

Severus sneered at the women, "Well, I for one do not relish letting younger and younger children come to school here! We have enough trouble controlling the first years between immaturity and homesickness, the entire first month is useless as it is!"

Albus made a gesture to tell everyone to return to their seats. "I agree with both groups." He gestured for them all to settle down after they again jumped up to begin arguing their point, "I do not believe younger children should begin schooling here, but I also believe that we could set up a program of day schools around the country to help children that do not belong to traditional old families to begin to bridge the gap. Remus, if you would duplicate the lesson plans for the magic lessons that you have been giving? "

"Minerva, I need you to draft a letter telling parents about the new program, particularly the non-traditional students? I will give you the particulars as they are ironed out. Sirius, perhaps you could take the magical registries book and locate areas that a small day school would service a group of children? Ideally between eight and ten in each school? And I will begin to draft a curriculum for each age student. I would like to start with older students first, perhaps those who will be attending Hogwarts in one or two years."

"But what about our day school here?" Severus began.

"Oh, it will continue of course. And perhaps if we find particularly talented students at our day schools, they could be transferred here for more intense training as needed. Now, I must broach this subject with the Ministry for Education, arrange for all of those portkeys, and search for appropriate materials and…" Albus dismissed the others with a distracted wave, his mind already going in nine different directions as the brilliant old mage worked out the myriad problems inherent in such a bold and sweeping change to magical education.

As Severus slowly walked down the circular staircase to reclaim his son he thought again about how his life had changed so dramatically since the day that one small boy had appeared in his lab.

"This is going to be one exciting year!" He muttered as he strode down the corridor, black robes billowing behind him.

Albus threw floo powder into the fireplace in his office, clutched the sheaf of parchments with his fledgling ideas about a sweeping change in the education of magical children and thought, 'What an exciting year this will be!' as he disappeared into the green flames.

Minerva looked at her calendar and started scheduling tentative appointments for the nine new muggle born students she would have to visit individually and explain about magic and the magical world. "I wonder what other changes young Shaun will bring?" She really wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to that question as she turned her attention to her schedule once more.

Filius was browsing through his catalogs of magical books as he searched for materials appropriate for nine and ten year olds to learn about magic. He rubbed his forehead in excitement and chirped, "Oh, this year is going to be so exciting! I can hardly wait to begin."

Sirius stuck his head into the study were Remus was revising his lesson plans, "Moony, I need your help with these maps! I have located at least six areas were there are enough students that live close to each other, but I need help with the ones that are scattered around!" Remus capped his inkwell as he stood to go and help his old friend, thinking back on how much his life had changed in the past eight months. 'Was it only eight months ago that the most I was hoping for was a good meal and something to make transformations less painful? I now have the wolf gone forever, my 'family', a great job, a limitless future and, for once in my life, hope. And it's all due to one small boy! Thank you Shaun, thank you Harry Potter!'


	18. Chapter 18: The End of Summer

Growing Up Snape

By Teacherbev

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not a multinational bookselling company, nor am I a multi-million dollar movie company, so I don't own anything that you recognize. I am a retired former teacher with a bizarre sense of humor, who likes to twist plots and play with characters' minds, so enjoy.

AN: To download any of my stories, click on my author name at the top of this page and then click on homepage. You may read messages, leave messages, and take the poll without signing in, but you must sign into Yahoo to download the stories. In the sidebar that says members only, just click on files and it will lead you to all three stories, each is available in PDF, e-book and mobipocket formats. Enjoy and please review!

Chapter 18: The End of Summer

After two solid weeks of experimentation, the four Ministry Potions Masters and their eight apprentices had determined that the phoenix song was only necessary for the last three hours of the tedious eight hour brewing process of the newly discovered cure for Lycanthropy. They also determined that the song had to be real, magical recordings had no effect upon the brewing and made the potion no more potent than a regular Wolfsbane and thus useless because of the alterations that Severus had made to the original formula. It had also been determined that the formula could be doubled but not tripled without losing any of its efficacy.

The Bureau for the Care and Control of Magical Creatures had registrations for 196 werewolves on its active list, they also estimated that another 50 or 60 would come forward once the cure was announced, so the Ministry wanted 300 doses prepared to be safe and make sure that Lycanthropy was eradicated from the British Isles. Of course if there were an excess of doses they could always be sold to other governments for their own indigenous population, though the Ministry was also planning for the eventuality that some werewolves from other countries would merely show up and claim citizenship in order to benefit from the cure.

The second weekend in August had been orchestrated to become a massive brewing marathon at the Ministry for Magics own potions lab. The four Ministry Masters and Severus Snape had been drafted to be the brewers, while all eight apprentices and another six of Snape's NEWT level students had been drafted to prepare ingredients, help with the tedious stirring and any other drudge work that would be required. Severus also had Nippy to assist and Professor Dumbledore had graciously allowed a team of house elves to volunteer to assist in any way necessary in keeping the group fed and watered.

Remus and Sirius were in charge of keeping Shaun occupied and entertained until he was needed for the critical last three hours of brewing and had offered to watch him overnight so that Severus would be able to sleep undisturbed and leave early in the morning without having to worry about waking up Shaun.

Severus woke up early on that Saturday morning, unable to sleep any more after a night of tossing and turning, vainly trying to sleep. He had not been so nervous about a day of brewing since he had taken his own mastery tests years ago. He showered, dressing in his lightest weight work robes and tying his hair back so it would not interfere with his day. He smiled at the memory of his co workers and especially his students when he had first appeared in the Great Hall one morning with his hair neatly washed, grease-free and tied back with a simple leather strap. Shaun had insisted he stop using the fire and potion retardant treatment in his hair because he liked to play with his daddy's hair too much and he complained about the greasy feel it left on his hands. Their relationship had been so new at the time that he was willing to do almost anything to get a faint smile and a hesitant hug from his son. He had quickly decided that he liked the new feel of his hair and it really didn't allow any more damage to his hair and scalp than using the noxious potion on it had.

After a quick breakfast of tea and toast to try and settle his stomach, he gathered the few supplies he would need, called to Nippy to tell him to leave for the Ministry and went up to Albus' office to floo to the Ministry potions lab. He stood up carefully; brushing the stray bits of soot off of his work robes as he turned and scrutinized the set up of the lab for the marathon brewing that would take place today.

There were five brewing stations set up, the maximum that would fit comfortably in the specially warded and reinforced brewing chamber. Because of the unknown and sometimes dreadful results that magic could have upon potions, the room could not be magically expanded or enhanced in any way and the wards were placed upon the exterior of the massive physically reinforced walls of the large chamber.

After greeting and shaking hands with the other potion's masters and nodding at the introductions between his six students and their eight apprentice contemporaries, he scrubbed his hands and began to set up his work station to his own preferences. Each ingredient was to be carefully prepared to exact specifications by a team of four students, each brewer would be assisted by their own two apprentices while Severus was assisted by his own carefully chosen and trained seventh year students. Nippy would be in charge of the house elves who would keep an area set up in an adjoining small room furnished with food and drinks as well as any other reasonable requests from the brewers and their assistants.

The time passed slowly as Severus moved swiftly and gracefully from cauldron to cauldron, his two assistants following his every whispered instruction like a well trained team of muggle chefs. It was challenging to say the least, keeping three cauldrons brewing to exacting standards at the same time was something the young students and apprentices marveled at as he deftly performed the intricate dance of the potion's master. He was by far the most dexterous and competent of the brewers there. The four Ministry brewers were each struggling with two massive cauldrons while Severus made his own three bubbling cauldrons look no more difficult than a large pot of stew.

* * *

As each brewer came to a point where they could leave the meticulous and exacting stirring of the potion to an apprentice, or in Severus' case, his own exceedingly well trained house elf, the four adjourned to the adjacent room for cooling drinks and sandwiches.

"So Master Snape, how did you come upon this remarkable cure? I have heard vague stories about the original Wolfsbane but nothing so far about changing the Wolfsbane into the Werewolves' Cure? Have you been researching the ingredients for a long time?" asked the elderly Augustus Wimple, who had been brewing for years without ever reaching his mastery.

Severus carefully swallowed his bite of the excellent turkey sandwich he was eating as he thought over his answer carefully. He didn't want to claim more credit than he was eligible for, but how did he explain his four year old son had changed the ingredients in his lab simply because he hadn't wanted to make his father mad?

"I have been working on the Wolfsbane formula for several years and was finally able to begin brewing experimental potions last summer at Hogwarts. As you know, I am unable to brew experimentally during the school year because of the student population, teaching classes and keeping the hospital wing stocked, which can sometimes be a full-time occupation by itself."

Seamus O'Reilly nodded his head sagely as he swallowed his own mouthful, "I imagine it is, Master Snape. Merlin knows we are quite busy here with just the Ministry potions, and we are just brewers, not masters like you. I always thought I would have more time to finish my mastery here than working for a profit making apothecary or St. Mungo's but, alas; there is no more free time here to experiment than there would be at either of those places."

Severus took another bite before answering the others. "I adopted a young boy last year and he has been 'helping' me in the lab. He is quite inquisitive and asks many questions that sometimes lead to remarkable insights into new potions. Without his assistance the Werewolves' Cure would not exist. Also, the fact that his tutor is a werewolf, or should I say, was a werewolf; I had a unique interest in finding both the Wolfsbane and the Cure. A very personal reason, that spurred on my inspiration as it were." There was no need to tell them that the child in question had been only three years old at the time, it wasn't his fault if they thought the child was much older, now was it?

The other three men nodded in agreement before standing up to return to their cauldrons and the still very long day ahead of them.

* * *

Fawkes and Shaun were playing keep away from Sirius and Remus through the halls of Hogwarts. Of course, Remus and Sirius didn't know they were playing keep away! Shaun had a firm grip upon one of Fawke's tail feathers and was flying down the corridors just out of the two men's reach. Niveus was gliding gracefully beside the two, encouraging them, or perhaps just mocking them.

"Shaun, get down here right now! It's time for you to eat lunch and then it will be time to go to the Ministry and help Daddy brew his potion. You know how important that is, now get down here!" Remus was trying to appeal to Shaun's reason and his desire to help his Daddy.

Sirius was a little more direct and hit the two escapees with a jet of cold water from his wand which caused Shaun to gasp and startle, dropping Fawke's feather in shock. "Agghhh! Uncle Sirius, that's not fair! I don't have a wand and I can't get you back!"

Sirius had caught the very wet and wiggling child, squeezing him with a big hug as Remus quietly cast a drying spell upon both his friend and the boy. Sirius looked at Moony, nodded his thanks and then threw Shaun up onto his shoulders before transforming in a flash into Padfoot and running down the corridor in the direction of the Great Hall. Remus grinned, took just a bit longer and there was a large silver wolf chasing the two.

Niveus trilled at Fawkes, 'Serves you right for teasing the poor humans, you look like a drowned chicken.' A delighted laugh was evident in her song as she looked at the humiliated and very wet phoenix before flashing to her perch in Shaun's bedroom. Fawkes just shook himself with a disgruntled 'humph' and flashed back to his perch in Albus' office to recuperate. The startled headmaster just looked at the dripping phoenix, his eyes twinkling merrily as he laughed heartily. "I'm not even going to speculate my old friend!" With a shake of his head he returned to his paperwork, glancing every once in a while toward the bird vainly trying to preen his wet feathers and laughing all over again.

* * *

After what seemed like days, the five brewers had reached the critical last break before the three hours that required Shaun to be in attendance. Severus leaned over to Nippy and whispered into his elf's oversized ear, "Please fetch Master Shaun now, Nippy."

With a bow and a nod, Nippy snapped his fingers and disappeared. He returned momentarily but alone. Severus looked at him quizzically and queried, "Where's Shaun?"

"Master Shaun is on his way, Master Snape, sir. Master Shaun's is having his own way of coming here today, sir." The old elf bowed and turned back to stirring the potion that he had just left.

In a far corner, up next to the ceiling a bright red flash of fire was followed by an almost instantaneous flash of bright bluish white light and the sound of childish giggles erupted into the large room, echoing around the stone walls. "Thanks, Niveus that was wicked!"

Niveus flew gracefully down, Fawkes flying in formation to her left, and dropped Shaun into his father's startled but waiting arms. Severus hugged the boy, ruffling his already unruly hair and smirked at the boy, "Just had to make an entrance didn't you?" But his laughing took any bite out of the rebuke.

"Just like you Daddy!" The little rascal giggled back.

"Brat!"

"But you know you love me, don't you Daddy?" was the impertinent answer. The eighteen witnesses to the playful interchange between the two wore various expressions of disbelief as they tried to reconcile the bitter and sarcastic reputation of the Hogwarts Potions Professor with the cheerful and loving father they were witnessing. Severus let Shaun slide down his body until his feet hit the floor, then he reached down, grabbing one shoulder to spin the boy and swat him on the rear before calling him 'brat' one last time.

Fawkes perched on one of Shaun's shoulders while Niveus took the other. The four brewers hurriedly turned back to their own cauldrons after watching Severus retaking his stirring paddle in anticipation of his son's singing.

Severus cringed as he remembered he had forgotten the pair of earplugs he had wanted to bring. Not that Shaun didn't have a beautiful clear boyish soprano, he did. What he did have was an appallingly small repertoire of songs that he actually knew the words to. So he sighed and resigned himself to another long afternoon of repetitious songs about weird muggle cartoon characters. He had just begun to stir the first cauldron, nodding to his two student helpers to begin stirring their own when the most remarkable sound he had ever heard erupted from the trio and echoed through the large chamber, spilling out into the Ministry building at large.

Fawkes' low baritone trill was blended with a descant of high soprano from Niveus but blended into the duo was a clear and precise third clear trill issuing from Shaun's open mouth. The phoenix song rose high and then descended as it seemed to shimmer visibly in the air of the chamber. Everyone in the chamber froze in amazement, startled that a phoenix song could even be sung by any human, let alone a five year old boy! The massive cauldrons started to belch smoke, drawing all eyes back to the task at hand, all traces of fatigue and weariness disappearing in the marvelous warmth and love of the song.

Throughout the Ministry, workers and visitors alike stopped to allow the mesmerizing peace and joy of the unearthly song fill them completely. Down in the Ministry holding cells, deep in the bowels under the building, despair and desolation seeped out of the prisoners, the judgment of the phoenix song as harsh and eternal as the final judgment of any mortal meeting his maker.

The sixteen hidden death eaters and sympathizers within the Ministry walls collapsed from the weight of their crimes as the phoenix' song judged them. All others felt empowered and uplifted, their spirits soaring with the heavenly trills. Many muggles passing by the odd empty building swore they heard angels singing in a heavenly chorus. Attendance at churches all across England would reach record heights that Sunday, and the police recorded the smallest amount of criminal activity in the last century that weekend.

* * *

Severus blinked his eyes, seeming to awaken from a trance or a deep meditation. He looked down at the three cauldrons sitting before him and was surprised to find them completed and perfect in every way, just waiting for the final slow cooling before being measured out into individual doses, each one priceless beyond measure for someone afflicted with Lycanthropy. He looked over to find his son curled up, deeply asleep with his head on his arms, Niveus cooing softly at him as she lay beside him on a couch, her wing spread protectively over him like a feather blanket. Fawkes was perched protectively over the two of them, his long wings stretched out along the back of the couch he perched on. He reached a long neck down and curled it lovingly around Niveus, rubbing his cheek against hers in affection and love.

All around Severus, people stretched and murmured amongst themselves, no one truly willing to break the enchantment the long phoenix song had spun around the potions chamber.

A crowd of Hogwarts elves popped into existence with a string of soft pops, much like popcorn popping, until each now very tired witch or wizard was surrounded by a group of small beings herding them into the anti-chamber to be fed and watered before going home. As they all sat and ate, they were quiet and still awe-struck at the once in a lifetime experience they had all experienced that afternoon.

* * *

Severus had tucked Shaun into bed after managing to coax the boy into swallowing a small cup of creamy chicken soup and then leaving him to be once again covered and protected by two large and very powerful birds.

Albus stood up as Severus leaned in weariness against the doorframe of Shaun's bedroom. He took the younger wizard by the shoulders and led him over to sit beside him on a couch facing Remus and Sirius on the other couch that flanked each side of the now gently burning fireplace.

"So, child, how did the brewing go today?" Albus gently asked the obviously exhausted Potion's Master.

"Sweet Merlin, I can't even find the words to begin to explain what happened!" Severus was leaning back, his head against the top of the couch, his eyes closed as he rubbed them tiredly with one elegant but slightly potion stained hand. "I have never experienced anything like that before and I imagine that I shall never again have that opportunity. I never wanted it to end, though, it was truly magnificent!" His voice was soft and full of wonder and even awe, a tone of speech the three men had never heard him speak in before.

"Brewing Wolfsbane?" Remus asked, confused.

"No, it was the sound, the unearthly song, of two phoenixes and my son joining in to sing for over three hours straight not the brewing." Severus' spoke softly

The three men looked at him startled; Albus was the first to recover and asked, hesitantly, "Fawkes and Niveus accompanied Shaun in singing?"

Severus chuckled at their misunderstanding, it was understandable of course. "Niveus and Fawkes joined my son in singing in phoenix song, not human song! And no, I didn't think it was possible for a human voice box to make those sounds either, but he did."

Severus reached over and grabbed Albus' old hand in excitement, "Would you like to share in my memories of today? All of you? I admit I am most anxious to relieve them, they are indescribable, simply …" He shrugged, unable to think of any more words.

* * *

They had eventually invited Minerva, Filius, and Poppy to join in the pensieve as they all revisited Severus' memories of the performance of that afternoon. All seven of them left Albus office that evening with smiles of pure happiness as they each made their way to their own quarters for the night. Each was closer to the others after sharing in the experience, and none of them would ever forget the feelings, nor would any witch or wizard who had experienced the glory of the three singing ever have difficulty finding a happy enough experience to cast a patronus ever again.

* * *

Shaun was the first one up the next morning, gleefully jumping on his still blissfully asleep father's chest in his excitement. "Daddy, Daddy, wake up! You promised to take me flying today with Uncle Remus and Sirius! Wake up, Daddy!"

Severus managed to crack open one bleary eye and glared at the small exuberant child jumping on his chest. "It's too early to fly Shaun, let Daddy sleep some more, please."

"It's not early, Daddy. Nippy says breakfast will be over soon if we don't come. The clock says it's after nine and it's pretty outside so let's go flying! You promised Daddy if I did a good job singing yesterday and I did Daddy, I did and Niveus and Fawkes helped me. I did do a good job didn't I Daddy?" A small amount of doubt had crept into Shaun's voice as he continued his one sided conversation with his father.

Severus groaned once and sat up abruptly dumping Shaun onto his lap where he grabbed the boy in a fierce hug and kissed him soundly on the cheek. "Yes, son, I am very proud of you. You did a **_fantastic _**job yesterday. I have never heard such beautiful singing in all of my life!"

A huge grin threatened to split the boy's face in half as he grabbed his daddy and returned the hug.

* * *

After a glorious morning spent flying in the bright August sun, they all adjourned to the Great Hall for lunch and returned to the matters at hand. Albus asked each of the Professors present to report on their individual summer projects and had a surprising bit of news for the group. "Professor Binns has been reluctantly encouraged to finally pass over so it seems that this year we will have one more, very much alive, Professor at Hogwarts. I would like to be the first to offer and hopefully congratulate Professor Black on the position of History of Magic, professor?" Remus held his breath as he looked at his lifelong friend. He knew the years at Azkaban would never truly leave the prematurely aged wizard, but a job like this would go a long way to making him young once more.

Sirius Black gulped in astonishment. Only a short year ago he had been without hope, weakened near to death and almost resigned to never even seeing daylight unencumbered by the grey walls and metal bars of Azkaban and now he was free and being offered the position of a lifetime, to be allowed to teach a subject he loved and to live in the place he most called home. He swallowed again in nervousness, "Of course I will accept, Headmaster. It's such an honor…it's so…I…" Everyone at the table chuckled at the notoriously glib prankster so gobsmacked and searching for words.

Remus grabbed Sirius in a big hug and pounded him on the back in glee. "James would be so proud of you, Padfoot! No more goblin rebellions and sleeping in history class!"

As Sirius bent his head to surreptitiously wipe away the moisture pooling in the corner of his eyes, Albus turned to Remus and asked him about the progress in setting up the new day school program. "When will the new programs be up and running, Remus? How has the response from the parents and new students been?"

Remus let go of Sirius and looked around again, "It's been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, most parents would like something set up for even younger children. But I think we should still emphasize some of the curriculum from Muggle schools also. I think it will go a long way toward keeping another Voldemort from arising if Muggle borns know about the wizarding world, but it is equally or even more important for the pureblooded wizards to know the facts of life about Muggles, not the nonsense they learn in Muggle studies here at Hogwarts. No offense, Albus, but it is too little, too late and the Governor's insistence that it be taught by a pureblooded wizard is just ridiculous. At least have a muggle born teach it!" Remus let a little frustration at the situation seep into his tone, but the others at the table were nodding in complete agreement with his sentiments.

Minerva interjected, "We have the facilities and curriculum set up and it should be running by the middle of September. Exactly how many students have signed up, Remus?"

"We currently have almost all of the nine and ten year olds from the Magical Registries book. Only two pureblooded families prefer to remain with private tutors. So a total of 93 students will be starting this year. And many of those have younger siblings that would be interested if space opens up for them, at least part time. We have found eight areas where between eight and ten students live close enough for a regular day school, and we have five more sites for up to twelve students that draw from a much wider area. We have six magical families that are donating their homes to start with until we can find a building, we are contracting with three Muggle schools for space in unused classrooms for time after regular school hours are over and we have located space for the last four day schools in failed nursery schools at Muggle shopping malls that we can use. The last four sites are set up for much larger groups of students and we might want to combine some groups and run more than one classroom at each of those sites since they already have playgrounds, bathrooms, kitchens and multiple classrooms set up. Or we might expand the ages served at those four sites, whichever you think might work best, Albus."

"Excellent, excellent, please keep up the good work and let me know if there is any way I can expedite anything for you. The Ministry has been remarkably open about changing the educational system and in fact has suggested that we require a new class the first year for all students, Wizarding Culture for any non-wizard raised, and Muggle Culture for any children raised strictly in the wizarding world. I would like to offer the position for both of those classes to Arabella Figg, if no one objects?" No one spoke up and the group turned to lunch as their plates appeared with a wave from the headmaster's hand.

Severus noticed Shaun was enthusiastically munching away on his Brussels sprouts, something he wasn't particularly fond of. He bent down and looked at them more closely. His face turned pale as one eyebrow raised almost to his hair line. He coldly confronted his son, "Shaun Snape, did you turn those sprouts into chocolate?"

His son looked up at him innocently, "No Daddy, and they are malted milk balls, not sprouts. Want one?"

Severus glared at his colleagues up and down the long table. But with all of them trying to hide smiles and laughs it was difficult to distinguish exactly which one of them had transformed the boy's disliked vegetable into a despicable Muggle candy! He turned once again to his son, reaching to remove the candy only to find the last one disappearing into a small smiling mouth. Severus leaned his head down into his hand and muttered, "Merlin, why me?" His colleagues lost their battle with composure as mixed peals of laughter spread around the Great Hall.

"Merlin says because you are the Creature of Night who must guide me and love me. You do love me, don't you Daddy?"

Severus looked like a deer caught in the headlights; he was the prophesized one to guide the Chosen One? How, why…he couldn't be…he thought that had meant Remus or Albus or someone…

But looking at the absolute trust and love in those small, brilliantly emerald eyes of the small child now grasping his hand he knew that whatever came their way, no matter the obstacles, or how hard the fight, he would be there. He would guide and cherish his son, his Shaun, his gift from the gods.

As his smile lit up his black eyes; he clutched the child, picking him up to kiss him soundly on the cheek as he proclaimed to the world, "**_Yes child. I LOVE YOU_**!"

The End of Part Two

* * *

AN: The story will continue, but it might be several months before it will begin. RL has hit me with the double whammy! My husband of 36 years decided he didn't want to be married any more, well, at least not to me so I am in the process of packing up and moving to another state to be closer to my family. Then last night my Stepmother died after a long and terrible fight and my Grandmother, the one who is 100, had a mild stroke last week. Anyway, thank you for your support and encouragement and I will return with a sequel for both stories when I have settled in and found a new apartment. 


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